


Sweet Venom

by sassysmith19 (sassysas19119)



Series: Sweet Love AU [2]
Category: Big Bang (Band), EXO (Band), SHINee, Super Junior, VIXX
Genre: Blood, Death, EXO - Freeform, Fighting, GAY GAY GAY, Gay, Hunters, Kibum from SuJu is dead in this b/c I didn't want to have two Kibums...sorry?, M/M, Maybe. - Freeform, SHINee - Freeform, Sex, Vampire Families, Vampires, Violence, Vixx - Freeform, YG, bigbang, families, gay sex?, hunters hunting vampires, lots of ships, sm, super lit, superjunior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:08:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 42,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9056725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassysas19119/pseuds/sassysmith19
Summary: "Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust, like diamonds we are cut by our own dust."





	1. monster

Zitao still remembered the night his parents had been killed. He could still hear them screaming, could still see the blood that covered the room, could still _feel_ the vampire breathing down the back of his neck, whispering horrid words into his ear.

He had been eight years old, at the time. Even thinking of those words now, 15 years later, still made him shudder, grip on his stake tightening. Gods, he hated the fear. He hated the way it twisted in his gut, hated the way it paralyzed him, froze him in place as the people around him got hurt.

He pulled the scarf higher, over his face, and continued down the street, stake in hand. This was the worst part, he realized, having to walk through the heart of vampire territory, just to get where he was going. Sure, humans lived here, but it was night time, and they were asleep, tucked away from the true nightmares of their world.

They all knew vampires existed, just like they knew that hunters, like Zitao, were trying to protect them. They all knew to stay indoors at night – well, the sensible ones did. Nothing could be said for the teenagers, or the young men who thought they could hold a vampire off on their own. They were the reason hunters were even necessary.

The vampires were there, he could feel them, but he wasn’t looking for a fight, not tonight. And they all knew he was there, they could smell him, but they knew he was armed, and they knew who he was. They knew whose fury they would face if he was their victim. 

As he approached his destination, he slid the stake into its sheath, and pulled his scarf down, off of his face. His breath formed icy clouds in the air, before vanishing.

He knocked twice on the front door, before turning the handle, and letting himself inside. As he tugged his scarf off of his neck, he toed off his shoes, nudging them into careful alignment with the others by the door. He slipped his jacket off of his shoulders, and hung it, along with the scarf, on a hook on the wall.

And then there were hands on his waist, a nose pressed against his neck, hot skin meeting cold. Zitao smiled, but before he could say anything, his companion let out a quiet noise, almost a whine, and most definitely a complaint. “You’re cold.”

“Well, it _is_ , like, 3 degrees outside-” He was cut off as his shirt was quite literally torn off, warm body pinning him to the wall, hot breath on his shoulder. He struggled to turn around. “You’re a tad impatient tonight, aren’t you?”

“Shut _up_.” Okay, that one was a whine. As steady hands undid the buckle on Zitao’s belt, his own fingers crept underneath his companion’s shirt, finding hot skin. A whine of protest followed. “Your fingers are _freezing_.”

Zitao hummed softly, but didn’t move his hands. “You’re the one who wanted me to come over tonight.” The only response was a quiet, indignant huff. “I’m basically almost naked, and you still have your shirt on. That’s not fair.”

Another huff. “Life’s not fair, Zitao.”

He laughed, before tugging the shirt over his companion’s head, momentarily distracting him. “Are we really going to do this in the hallway, Sehun?”

Sehun went still, hands frozen in place on Zitao’s belt. “I suppose that wouldn’t be very classy of me.” Zitao let out a quiet laugh, and within seconds, found himself pinned to the floor, Sehun straddling his waist. “But, then again, I’m not exactly a classy person, am I?” He leaned forward, pressed a kiss first to Zitao’s jaw, then his chin, and finally, his mouth. Zitao moaned softly, hands finding Sehun’s waist, and tugging him impossibly closer.

Zitao froze when he felt Sehun’s mouth on his neck. “No marks.” Sehun sighed quietly, didn’t pull back. “Sehun, _no_. Not tonight. I’m training new kids tomorrow, I can’t be seen with-”

Sehun pulled back, just enough to look Zitao in the eyes. “Fine. Not tonight.” Zitao let out a sigh of relief, and Sehun dove forward again. His teeth scraped down Zitao’s chest, until he reached his waist. His fingers undid the button, and he tugged the pants down, mouth never once leaving his hipbone, sucking gently. His hands slid underneath Zitao’s knees, and he bit down carefully, drawing blood. “You’ve heated up quite nicely.”

“Well, what’s the point of being a microwaveable meal if you stay cold all the time?”

Sehun laughed quietly, ran his tongue over the blood, and Zitao shuddered. “Shall I take you upstairs?”

“Please.”

“Mm, yes, I suppose the floor isn’t the most comfortable for you.” Zitao laughed quietly, as Sehun pulled him to his feet. He went still when someone else knocked on the door, and then Sehun kissed him again. “Go wait for me upstairs.”

Zitao obeyed, climbed the stairs quickly, leaving Sehun alone.

He slipped into the bedroom, shut the door behind him, and sat down on the edge of the bed with a quiet sigh. His fingers tapped idly on the bed, twisting absently in and out of the blankets. He smiled, remembering the first night Sehun had had them.

“Because I always take good care of you, don’t I?”

Zitao laughed, and got to his feet, walking quickly to Sehun. “Always.” Sehun kissed him, pushed him backwards onto the bed, tongue finding its way into Zitao’s mouth. “Please, I want-”

“Mm, what’s that? What does my sweet human want?”

Zitao flushed at the terminology. He wasn’t the hugest fan of Sehun calling him _his human_ , but they hadn’t seen each other in over a week. “I want…Sehun, _please_ …”

Sehun laughed quietly. “Oh, darling Zitao, how can I make you happy if I don’t know what you want? Hm? Am I supposed to guess?” Zitao whined, because he knew that Sehun knew _exactly_ what he wanted. “Go on, darling, you’re a big boy, you can use your words.” 

Zitao sobbed quietly, clinging to Sehun’s shoulders. “P-please, I want you to f-f-f _uck_ me.”

Sehun smiled against his jaw. “See, now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Zitao didn’t respond. “Darling, don’t be like that. You know I’m teasing.” Still no response. “Fine.”

Zitao grinned. “Really?”

“I suppose. Now spread your legs.”

***

Leeteuk sighed heavily when he stepped into the building, caught eye of one of the two hunters standing by the doors. The man nodded once, motioning towards a door off to Leeteuk’s right, and he shot them a tight smile of thanks, before stepping through the door, shutting it behind him with an audible click.

The sharp scent of cigarettes hit him first, and it hit him hard. He grimaced, scrunching his in protest, eyes narrowing as he took in the scene before him. Three hunters, two of them – Yesung and Baekhyun, Leeteuk knew those faces anywhere – standing by the door, a third seated on the couch. Seven vampires, four seated, two standing, one curled up on the third hunter’s lap, cheek resting on the hunter’s chest.

“Seunghyun, do I even want to know?”

The hunter grinned, eyes finding Leeteuk easily. “Somehow, I knew you were going to say that.” He laughed quietly, under his breath. “Has the Lady sent you to check up on me?” Leeteuk nodded. “Tell her that everything’s quite under control.”

Leeteuk scoffed. “How can I?” Seunghyun raised an eyebrow. “How can I tell her that everything’s under control when _this_ ,” he motioned around the room, “is what’s really going on?”

Another laugh from Seunghyun. “My orders, Leeteuk, were to get the vampire population of this town under control.” Leeteuk nodded once, then opened his mouth to speak, but Seunghyun cut him off. “Don’t you understand, Leeteuk? Vampires are dependent on blood for their…lives. If I control the blood, I control the vampires. And it would _appear_ , Leeteuk, that I’m doing a damn good job of controlling the vampires.” He paused, fingers threading in the hair of the vampire on his lap, pulling him backwards. “Wouldn’t you say, Jiyong?” The Vampire let out a quiet whine, leaned forward against Seunghyun. “So, Leeteuk, you can tell the Lady that everything’s fine. You’ll notice that _none_ of the vampires in this town have killed a human since I took over.” He released the vampire – Jiyong – and he fell forward against Seunghyun’s body, still whining quietly.

Baekhyun spoke quietly, his voice a surprise to everyone in the room. “Leeteuk, to be fair, he’s not wrong. He does have them under control; I haven’t had to…to put a vampire down, since I came here. We’ve never had a problem with them. They respect him, or at least they respect the fact that if they’re good, he’ll let them live.”

Leeteuk sighed. “Fine. Fine. I’ll pass word on to the Lady, but if you thought I wasn’t going to say anything about this-”

“Thank you, Leeteuk. You can go.” Leeteuk seemed taken aback by Seunghyun’s words. “Unless you’d like to spend the night? Some of these vampires are _very_ well trained.” 

Leeteuk choked on air. “ _No_.” Seunghyun laughed, as Leeteuk stepped out of the door, leaving him alone.


	2. bad boy

“And furthermore, my King, I don’t believe you understand the gravity of the situation! If this…this… _hunter_ believes that he is in control of all of the vampires, what is to stop the others from taking control of us? Surely you understand our concern.” The man looked ready to say more but the King silenced him with a look.

“My dear Daesung,” the King paused, glanced around the room at the other vampires in attendance, “your concern for the kingdom – for _my_ kingdom – is touching. I completely understand where you’re coming from. Your lover has been imprisoned by these hunters, and you would have me slaughter them all, in order to return him to us.” 

“I…what? No, my King-”

“Hush.” Daesung closed his mouth. “You would do well to remember, dear, that I do have the kingdom’s best interests at heart. I will not sacrifice my people for one vampire. Keep that in mind.” He waved his hand rather noncommittally, and Daesung turned, slipping out of the room. “I hate this.”

He spoke to no one in particular, but a pair of vampires came forward, to stand at his side. The first, the shorter of the pair, shifted closer, mouth pressed into a flat line, before he spoke. “Then why did you become King?” A growl, from the King’s mouth, and the newcomer backed off immediately. “No disrespect intended, brother, but you knew what it would mean if you chose to become our King.”

His companion put a hand on his forearm in warning. “That was tactless, but true, regardless. Heechul, to be fair, you _did_ know, and you _did_ choose this.”

The King finally snapped. “I said that I hate it, not that I regret it.” He sighed quietly, then turned his head to look at his brothers. “As for why I became King, Minseok, you know I did it because no one else could have. Who could have done better than I have? You? Joonmyun? I doubt it. If I had not taken the throne when our… _father_ handed it off, the kingdom would have fallen to ruin, and I will not allow that to happen.”

The taller of his siblings hummed quietly, leaned forward to rest his chin on Minseok’s shoulder. “So what are we going to do about the hunters?”

Heechul sighed. “ _We_ are going to do nothing. Ryeowook and Jongdae, on the other hand, will go north, check it out, have a conversation with these hunters should it be deemed both safe and necessary. Several of _my_ vampires have been taken, and I’d quite like to have them back. If we cannot reach a diplomatic solution with the hunters, then I will do what I have to, in order to bring my people back to us.” Minseok nodded, shook his brother off of his shoulder. “Jongin, could you, perhaps, go find me some food?”

Jongin grinned. “Of course.”

He stepped out of the throne room, leaving Minseok and Heechul alone, and that was exactly when Heechul turned on his brother. “Do not _ever_ doubt my leadership again, am I clear?”

The younger nodded. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Get out of my sight.”

Minseok complied, following Jongin’s path out of the room, leaving Heechul alone on the throne.

***

Zitao wrapped his jacket tighter around himself as he trudged towards the office building that he and the other hunters he worked with currently occupied. Another hunter was there to greet him at the door, a terse nod the only greeting that either offered. Zitao continued past him, down a hallway and into a large room, where a group of kids – none of them older than 11 – were gathered around one of the senior hunters.

“Zitao. You’re late.”

He shrugged off the criticism. “Rough night.” He slid his jacket off, and dropped it against the wall, along with his bag, as he turned towards the kids. “You’re welcome to leave, Yifan.”

The elder shook his head. “I’ve been ordered to oversee your…instruction. It would appear that the Lady is reviewing everyone’s…methods. She sent Leeteuk to check on Seunghyun, and you’ll never guess what happened.” Tao didn’t respond. “He’s sleeping with a vampire.”

That caught Zitao’s attention. “What?”

“Well, that bit’s implied, with good reason. Evidently he has control over all sources of blood in that town, and thus, he can control all of the vampires, and now he’s got himself a little bitch.”

Zitao raised an eyebrow. “Fascinating.” He turned back to the kids, all of whom had watched the exchange between the two hunters with wide eyes. “I hope you all remember where we left off last week.” Unanimous nods, although Zitao knew by now to take that with a grain of salt. “Then let’s get in position, and you can prove it, yes?”

They all hurried to obey, and Zitao bit back a grin. He had been watching these kids learn for four years now, had been teaching them for three. Most of them had grown excellent at the art, with a few exceptions here and there. But all those _exceptions_ only needed more practice, because if they wanted to fight vampires, they couldn’t be _weak_.

And of course, there was the rare kid who just _couldn’t_ , but Zitao had stopped trying to force it, and would instead ask that they be removed from his lessons. Those kids weren’t worth any less than the others; they simply weren’t meant to be _hunters_ in the field. They, much like Kangin, worked behind the scenes, helping to orchestrate what their companions did outside of the office.

“Yifan, can you please stay still? You’re distracting my students.” Only after the words left his lips, and he saw the confused looks on the faces of the kids did he realize that he had spoken in Chinese. “Continue, please.”

They obeyed, although Zitao wasn’t completely paying attention to them. Seunghyun was sleeping with a vampire…if it was true, the Lady would have a fit. Seunghyun would probably be stripped of his titles as a hunter. They had a Code, the hunters did, and whilst ‘don’t sleep with vampires’ wasn’t exactly a part of it, modern interpretation of the words ‘do not collaborate or fraternize with a vampire under any circumstances’ seemed to cover that well enough. The thought of Seunghyun’s punishment set Zitao’s blood boiling, his mind jumping immediately to _Sehun_. Granted, Seunghyun was most likely – based solely on Zitao’s three experiences with the senior hunter – flaunting his relationship with the vampire; it was, after all, a symbol of his victory in whatever town he currently occupied. He was like that, he liked to show off. He was the greatest hunter alive, and he knew it, they _all_ knew it.

Zitao sighed, and focused his attention back on his students, most of whom were doing just fine. One of them, however, had faltered, fallen, and Zitao moved quickly to him, helping the kid to his feet.

He almost bit Zitao, that much the elder could tell. They didn’t get along all that great; their personalities were too aggressive for them to work together well at all. But he had his hands off of the kid as quickly as he could, and had stepped back into his position at the front of the room.

When they had finished, Yifan pushed off of the wall, and came towards Zitao. “I’ll let the Lady know that I see no issues with your teaching, Zitao.” The younger nodded, arms folded over his chest. “Oh, and Kyungsoo wanted me to tell you that Jonghyun’s got a new stake for you.” Without another word, Yifan turned on his heel, and left the room, leaving Zitao and the kids alone.

“Alright. Let’s begin, yes?”

***

“He’s lost his mind.” That seemed to be the overarching sentiment of this little meeting. Leeteuk nodded once, a hand on Minho’s shoulder, gaze locked on Siwon. “He’s gone _completely_ mad. Are you sure he’s _sleeping_ with a _vampire_? Seunghyun is? _My_ brother, Seunghyun? Greatest hunter of our generation?”

Leeteuk shrugged. “Not one hundred percent sure, but the poor thing was sleeping in his lap, and based on what Baekhyun told me…”

Minho let out a grumbled sort of curse under his breath. “Gods, what would mother say? Or _father_? They’d _kill_ him. And that’s exactly what the Lady is going to do, when she finds out. She will _literally_ murder him, with her bare hands.”

Siwon sighed, and sank down into a crouch, head in his hands. “We have to stop him, before he gets himself killed.” Minho opened his mouth to argue, but Siwon cut him off. “Minho, he’s our _brother_. We can’t just stand back and let him get killed. We have to try.” He sighed again, then looked up at Leeteuk and Minho. “He’s crazy. Absolutely bat-shit crazy.”

Leeteuk nodded, and started towards the door. “I’ll…let Luhan know that you’ll be heading north, yes?” They both nodded in agreement. “Have fun.” Without another word, he stepped out of the room.

Minho sank to the floor beside Siwon. “Are you…are you doing alright?” Siwon shook his head. “They’ll find him, you know. And if they don’t, I will.” Siwon laughed quietly. “He’s not dead, Siwon, you’d know if he was.”

“If they turn him, he’s as good as.”

Minho made a thoughtful noise. “You’d condemn him so quickly, for something he has no control over?”

“Vampires are evil. And if he is turned, if he kills _anyone_ , I will be the one to put him down.”


	3. view

_Screaming. Pain. Blood. Hurt. Whips and chains and blades, cutting, bleeding, slicing through pale skin, pulling blood to the surface. Shrill screams, pulled from chapped lips, old wounds torn open again._

Han Geng was aware of the attacks ceasing almost as soon as it happened. His eyes flew open, wide and aware, trying to find shapes in the darkness. The pain was still there, but he could ignore that.

There. He could feel someone, some _thing_ , a vampire, walking towards him, silent, but Han Geng knew it was there, knew it could kill him in a matter of seconds. And then there were hands on his jaw, fingernails digging into his skin, turning his head down, presumably so their eyes could be on the same level.

“I have a question for you.” Han Geng sighed heavily. He knew that voice, that stupid, grating tone. “And if you answer honestly, darling, perhaps I’ll let you out of your chains.” Han Geng growled, low in his throat. “Or perhaps I’ll have them stop hurting you.” That caught his attention, and clearly the vampire noticed. “All you have to do is answer my question, alright?”

“Fine.”

His voice sounded broken, and he winced. He hated that, hated sounding _weak_. “Good boy, darling.” The hand left his face, and Han Geng relaxed, for about three seconds, before the vampire spoke again. “Where are the hunters hiding my vampires, and how are they controlling them?”

Han Geng didn’t hesitate. He knew the answer to that question. “I don’t know.” The vampire hummed quietly in his throat. “I don’t know, I swear. I don’t know. I’m not lying, you have my word.” The hand was back on his face, squeezing harder, and yanking him forward. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re lying.” Han Geng shook his head, as much as he could in the vampire’s grip. “Darling, I know you well enough to know that you’re not being honest with me.”

Han Geng bit out a laugh. “I had nothing to do with your vampires going missing.” A quiet scoff of disbelief was the only response. “That was Seunghyun, he was in charge of getting them under control in that town.” The vampire went still, anger still rolling off of his skin. “I promise, I wasn’t part of that operation, the Lady sent him to take care of them.”

The vampire snarled. “ _Take care of them_?” His grip tightened and Han Geng let out a high pitched whine. “You stupid hunters think you know everything, you think you _control_ everything.” He released Han Geng rather suddenly. “I’m going to have your hunters _taken care of_. This is the last time a stupid _human_ tries to cross me.”

He turned on his heel, and stormed away from Han Geng, and almost left, before Han Geng spoke. “Wait.”

“ _What_?”

Han Geng whimpered softly. “You…Heechul, you said-”

The vampire sighed quietly. “Fine. I suppose you were honest.” Within seconds, Han Geng was out of his chains, collapsing towards the floor, but Heechul caught him, held him in place.

Han Geng had about three seconds to realize that Heechul’s mouth was at his neck, before fangs were slicing through his skin, and he was screaming again.

***

Minho swore quietly under his breath when he spotted Seunghyun. His brother was seated at a table, a hunter seated on either side of him, an empty seat across from him. A vampire was in his lap, head resting on his shoulder, nose just brushing his neck, one hand curled around his upper arm, the other tucked inside of his jacket, and, Minho assumed, any other clothes he was wearing.

Minho and Siwon exchanged a glance, as they came towards their brother. Seunghyun smiled when he spotted them, one eyebrow raised in silent question. Neither answered, not until Siwon sat down across from Seunghyun, Minho standing behind him, hand on his shoulder.

“Whatever are my dear brothers doing here?”

“Checking up on you.” Siwon was blunt, straight to the point. Seunghyun’s other eyebrow rose to join the first. “There are…rumors, if you will, that you’re…how shall I say this without insulting anyone? Sleeping with a vampire.”

Seunghyun gasped, although it seemed more theatrical than anything else, and his grip on the vampire in his lap shifted, just enough that Minho noticed. “Scandalous, brother, positively scandalous. Why would you ever accuse me of such a thing?” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Minho sighed quietly. “We don’t have time for this, Siwon. Let’s just leave.” He tried to turn, but Siwon grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

“As far as I’m aware, dearest brothers, there’s no law against sleeping with a vampire.” Siwon snorted. “Besides, it’s not like I’m forcing him to do anything. My sweet little Jiyong has always been willing, has always offered himself up of his own accord-”

Siwon growled, reached across the table to take Seunghyun’s collar in his hand, and yank him forward. “Our job is not to play games with the vampires. Our _job_ , Seunghyun, is to protect the humans, and kill the vampires, if necessary. We do _not_ fraternize with them. You know the code as well as I do.”

“Oh, but dear Siwon,” Seunghyun yanked himself out of Siwon’s grip. “I’m not _fraternizing_. I’m just sleeping with him. You know, human needs and all that. Jiyong and I have reached a mutual agreement, and I think, brother, you’ll find that no human has been killed in this town since I arrived. So, you understand, then, that I _am_ protecting the humans, by sleeping with him.”

Siwon scoffed as he got to his feet. “You call it a mutual agreement; we all know, Seunghyun, that he’s only sleeping with you because you’re _food_. You’re using him to fulfill your needs; he’s doing the exact same thing to you, and you’re too _arrogant_ to realize it.” He stepped away from the table. “I’ll be sure to tell the Lady that you’ve confirmed your…relationship, with this little _whore_ of a bloodsucker.”

They started towards the door, but before they got there, it opened, and a pair of vampires stepped through.

Every hunter in the room, minus Seunghyun, was on edge within that same second. Siwon had a hand on his stake, Minho’s was already drawn, Yesung and Baekhyun both reaching for their own weapons. But the vampires didn’t look aggressive, didn’t _feel_ like they were ready for a fight.

One of them took a step forward, gaze finding Seunghyun within seconds, and he brushed past Siwon and Minho to reach him. He took the seat that Siwon had previously occupied, kept his gaze level with Seunghyun’s, completely ignoring the vampire in the hunter’s lap. “You are Seunghyun Choi, yes?” Seunghyun nodded once, ran a soothing hand down Jiyong’s back as he tensed. “My name is Jongdae. The King has sent me to speak with you.” Seunghyun raised a critical eyebrow. “You’ve kidnapped his vampires, and he’d quite like them back.”

The other vampire looked at Minho and Siwon for a long moment, before stepping aside, allowing them a path to leave, but neither moved.

“You can tell your King that unless he comes down here and speaks to me himself, he won’t be getting _any_ of them back. Bye bye.” Seunghyun got to his feet, pulled Jiyong with him, and they left the room quickly, Baekhyun and Yesung following. Siwon swallowed hard as Jongdae circled back around to stand beside his companion, gaze on both hunters.

“Heechul’s going to have a fit.” Jongdae nodded at his companion’s words. “I almost pity the hunter in the dungeon.” They turned around, walked towards the door, but paused.

Jongdae looked over his shoulder at Siwon and Minho. “You two might want to get out of here before the King returns. I don’t expect that’s going to be too pretty, not for you hunters.” Without another word, they stepped out of the building. Minho and Siwon followed, but turned the other way when they got outside.

“I’m going to kill Seunhyun.”

“If the King of the vampires doesn’t do it first.” Siwon laughed quietly, then went still. “Siwon? Are you alright?” He shook his head, slowly, eyes wide with fear. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s…” He paused, looked over his shoulder at where the two vampires were standing, deep in conversation. “It’s Han Geng.”

Both vampires looked up at once. Jongdae stepped forward, didn’t stop until he in Siwon’s personal space. “The hunter?” Siwon nodded once. “He’s yours?” Another nod. “Fuck.” He backed up quickly, grabbed his companion’s wrist, and within seconds, they were gone.

Siwon growled. “They…they have him. Oh my gods. They…gods.”

Minho put a hand on his shoulder. “The King won’t kill him.” Siwon let out a quiet noise. “Let’s go home.”

“But-”

“Siwon, if you can keep a secret, I know a way to contact the King. I won’t let him kill Han Geng.”


	4. devil

Zitao woke with Sehun underneath him, the vampire making soft noises every time he exhaled. Zitao smiled, and then froze in place. They weren’t alone. Slowly, he pushed off of Sehun’s chest, and looked over his shoulder, eyes finding the hunter standing in the doorway almost immediately. “Yifan.” The hunter nodded once. “This isn’t-”

“What it looks like?” Zitao held still, and then nodded. “It _looks_ , Zitao, like you slept with a vampire.”

Zitao whined quietly, startling Sehun awake. His grip on Zitao’s hips tightened, and he growled at Yifan, fangs sliding free. “Sehun, stop.”

The vampire made a quiet noise. “But he wants to _hurt_ you.” Zitao shook his head, touched a gentle hand to Sehun’s face, before sitting up fully. “Zitao-”

“Sehun, please. Stay out of this.” After a moment, the vampire yielded, slinking around to sit behind Zitao. “I’m sorry.” Yifan didn’t look like he believed him. “Actually, no, I’m not. I’m not breaking the law, Yifan. I’m not helping the vampires. I’m not betraying the hunters.”

“You let it feed on you.”

Zitao nodded. Might as well embrace that now; there was no denying it, not with the bitemarks that covered his shoulders. “I did. Never enough to last him for more than a few days, never enough that I wouldn’t be able to hunt within five minutes of him finishing.” Yifan opened his mouth to say more, but Zitao cut him off. “I know that it looks like I’ve gone soft on a vampire, Yifan, trust me, I know. But if he ever tried to hurt someone, if he _ever_ got in my way, I’d put him down just as I would any other vampire.”

“So how else does it feed?”

Sehun answered that one, as he tugged his pants back on. “Feeder house. Really pretty human named Dara.” Yifan looked disgusted. “I don’t remember the last time I killed a human. And I’m sure that if I ever tried it again, Zitao wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.” He pulled a shirt over his head, and stepped towards the door, brushing past Yifan. “Zitao, call me.”

Zitao laughed quietly, then caught Yifan’s eye and fell silent. “The Lady is going to be furious.”

“Go ahead, Yifan, tell her. I don’t care. I’ll defend myself; if she finds me guilty, I’ll just go to Sehun.” That seemed to shock Yifan the most. “You realize, I hope, that the code doesn’t forbid us from sleeping with them, from using them to fulfill a need. We just can’t help them.”

“You let it _feed_ on you, Zitao!”

“So does every human or hunter who works in a feeder house. Yet we never condemn them, do we? Yifan, we kill them because they kill humans who have lives. Why are we so quick to assume that _they_ don’t have lives? Friends? Families?” Yifan scoffed. “Don’t be like that. I’m not saying we should stop hunting. I’m not saying that _I’m_ going to stop hunting. But Sehun and I made a deal; he feeds off of me, or Dara, but no one else.” Yifan sighed quietly. “I have saved lives, Yifan, even you realize that. I have done my job.”

“By allying with a vampire.”

“I am not his _ally_!” Zitao’s voice rose quickly. “I will not betray my family. I will not betray my friends. But I will not sit back and allow you to condemn someone you don’t know anything about!” Yifan had his stake at Zitao’s heart in two seconds. “Go ahead. Kill me. Kill me for the lives I’ve saved, kill me for doing my job, kill me for believing that Sehun has a life, a family, a reason to exist that goes beyond _blood_.”

“Fuck you.” Yifan pushed off of the bed, started towards the door. “Fuck you.”

Zitao went still, tears threatening to spill when he heard the front door slam shut. After a long moment, he pushed himself to his feet, and grabbed his pants, pulling them up over his legs, before walking towards Sehun’s closet. He found a shirt in about four seconds, and slid into it, nimble fingers closing buttons.

He walked out of the room, and down the stairs, where he found Sehun waiting with his coat. The vampire helped Zitao into it, hands lingering just a second too long on his arms, before he pulled away. “I’m sorry.” Zitao shook his head. “No, Zitao, I mean it. I’m so sorry. You don’t have to come see me anymore.” He stepped back, walked towards the kitchen, but Zitao grabbed his wrist, held him in place. “Go home. Your family is hurting, and it’s my fault.” He pulled free of the hunter’s grip, and continued into the kitchen. Zitao sighed quietly, slipped into his shoes, and opened the front door.

A group of vampires had formed a loose semicircle by the front door, but as Zitao stepped outside, they parted, allowing him to walk through. None of them spoke, until he had gotten all the way down the driveway, and then one of them turned. “You are Zitao, correct?”

“Yes.”

The vampire hummed quietly. “When you see your leader, tell him I’ll be coming to speak to him.” Zitao nodded once, and then stepped into the street, walking quickly across, and onto the sidewalk opposite.

***

Han Geng woke up in Heechul’s arms.

That in itself was terrifying enough, and it was only doubled when he felt his throat burning. It reminded him of the time he had touched a hot stove, except this was hotter, in his throat, and it didn’t _stop_. He whined, panic pitching the noise higher than normal, and Heechul’s grip tightened, holding him in place. Han Geng squirmed, trying to break free of the vampire’s hold on him, but Heechul was stronger than he was, had always been stronger. “Let me _go_.” He pushed against Heechul’s chest, and then collapsed, breathing heavily, still whining as each breath only made the fire in his throat burn more. “What have you _done_?”

Heechul laughed quietly, one hand stroking gently over Han Geng’s face. He was in too much pain to try and bite. “You already know the answer to that question, darling.” Han Geng growled, then cut off, surprised by how powerful the noise was. “You want to feed.”

It wasn’t a question, but Han Geng nodded anyways, going limp in Heechul’s grip. “I don’t know _how_.” It was humiliating, some part of his brain realized, that he, one of the greatest hunters _ever_ , was this weak, was yielding to this vampire, was practically _begging_ him for help. “It _hurts_.”

Heechul brushed a hand over his hair, sat up slowly, helping Han Geng along with him. “Oh, darling, you’re going to be just fine. I’ll take care of you.” Han Geng whined softly, face pushing against Heechul’s neck. “Shush, I’ll let you feed. Show me your fangs.” Han Geng pulled back, just enough so he could look Heechul in the eyes, and opened his mouth. Heechul smiled, one finger coming up to touch gently at them. “Beautiful.” Han Geng flushed, tried to look away, but Heechul put a hand on his jaw. “I’m not hitting on you, darling.”

“This feels so wrong.”

“Why? Because you’re a vampire?” Han Geng growled at those words. “Or because I call you darling?” That one prompted a nod. “I apologize.” Heechul tipped his head backwards, exposing his neck, and Han Geng leaned forwards, sniffing gently along his throat. “You know where to bite?”

“Yes. I taught a class about vampires and feeding.”

Heechul laughed quietly, the sound cutting off into a soft sigh as Han Geng’s fangs slid into his skin.

They were startled when the door flew open, slamming against the wall. Han Geng tried to move away, but Heechul put a hand on his waist, and looked over his shoulder. “ _What_?”

“Heechul, it’s-” Jongdae cut off when he saw Han Geng, mouth smeared with blood, lips parted, fangs poking out, pupils blown wide. A quiet whimper slid through his lips, and he leaned against the vampire beside him. “It’s Han Geng.” Heechul raised an eyebrow. “He has a hunter’s claim on him.”

Heechul growled, practically threw Han Geng off of his lap as he rose to his feet. “Who?” Jongdae looked reluctant to answer. “Jongdae, _who_?”

Jongdae whined, shrinking in on himself, avoiding Heechul’s gaze. “S-Siwon. Choi.”

Heechul shrieked, and Han Geng whimpered. “Are you serious?” Jongdae nodded. “Get out. Both of you. Out.” He turned towards Han Geng as the others left the room, and then knelt beside him. He pulled a cellphone out of his pocket, and lifted it to his ear, as he pulled Han Geng into his lap, tilting his head backwards again.

“ _Hello_?”

“Minho, dearest, I need to speak with your brother.”

Han Geng could hear the conversation, but he ignored it, in favor of sinking his fangs into Heechul’s neck. The elder slid a hand into his hair, fingers rubbing gently at his scalp, as he waited.

“ _Hello? Who is this?_ ”

Han Geng stilled when he heard Siwon’s voice, but didn’t pull away from Heechul. “Siwon.” A quiet affirmation from the other end. “My name is Heechul. I’m the King of the vampires.” Han Geng heard Siwon start to say something, but blocked it out of his thoughts, pressing closer to get a better angle on Heechul’s neck. “No, trust me, I know, I understand. I…need to meet with you. As soon as possible. It’s about Han Geng.”

“ _When and where_?”

“Preferably not in a place with hundreds of hunters roaming about.”

“ _And I’d rather not go near too many vampires, thanks._ ”

Heechul hummed. “Very well. Have Minho show you to Sehun’s house. Tonight. 10 PM.” Another affirmation from Siwon, and Heechul hung up, before pulling Han Geng away from his neck. “I’m sorry. I had no idea he had claimed you. I shouldn’t have…”

Han Geng shot him a look, silencing him. “What’s done is done.”

“You’re angry.” Han Geng nodded. “I’ll leave you alone. Please don’t leave this room. I’ll…come collect you, later tonight.” Without another word, he got to his feet, and walked out of the room.


	5. growl

It was safe to say that none of them wanted to be in this situation.

Sehun had begrudgingly allowed the group of hunters to enter his home, had stood aside as they came in, one by one. He hadn’t relaxed, though the harsh lines of his tense shoulders had softened when Zitao had come in, and shot a quick, barely there smile at him. There were more hunters there than he might have liked, but if that’s what made them feel safe…Sehun was in no place to question it.

Siwon had led the party inside, his brother choosing to remain outside. A short little hunter – Kyungsoo, that was what they called him – had followed, followed by two others, neither of whom Sehun recognized, and Zitao had brought up the rear.

“They’re here.” Sehun spoke quietly, but it startled the hunters all the same. He walked to the front door, pulled it open even as they came up the steps. Heechul led the vampires, one of his brothers – Sehun, for the life of him, could not keep them straight – and one other vampire at his shoulders, and behind them followed the one that Heechul had spoken about on the phone, Han Geng.

Every hunter had their weapon drawn by the time the vampires made it into the living room, with the exception of Zitao. He was the only one who seemed relatively at ease in this environment, no tension in his body as he leaned against the wall, eyes on Heechul.

As soon as Siwon caught sight of Han Geng, he was on his feet. One of the vampires stepped forward, but Heechul stopped him, with a hand on his forearm. “Siwon.” The hunter hissed. “Let me explain. He was dying. Would you rather I had let him die?”

“I would _rather_ you not have kidnapped him at all!”

“And for that, I apologize. I didn’t know he was yours. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken him.” Siwon held still for a long time, then nodded. “Han Geng.” He came forward, pressing closer to Heechul than any of the hunters would have anticipated. “Are you alright?” He nodded, and Heechul inclined his head towards Siwon. “Go on.”

Han Geng held still for a long moment, and then stepped towards Siwon. He bit his lip, and then slowly, carefully, wrapped his arms around Siwon’s waist, and pressed his nose into his shoulder. Siwon put his own arms around Han Geng’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “Han Geng, baby…” It was then that he realized that Han Geng was crying, clinging to Siwon’s shirt. “Sweetie, it’s okay, I’m here.”

“He’s a _vampire_.”

Siwon growled, turned on his heel to face one of the other hunters. “Thank you for your input, Seungri. I really couldn’t tell.”

Seungri moved to step forward, but Zitao grabbed him, and tugged him backwards. Kyungsoo subtly stepped in between Seungri and Siwon, as the final hunter stepped forward. “Regardless of the fact that Siwon has claimed him, he is still a vampire. We cannot keep him with us; that directly violates everything in our code-”

“Actually,” Sehun cut off the hunter, stepped around the couch to stand beside Heechul. “Hunters kill vampires who ruin the lives of humans. Han Geng hasn’t killed anyone.”

“But he will. He’s a vampire, it’s what you _do_.”

Zitao let out a quiet sigh, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room, except Han Geng and Siwon. “That’s not true. They don’t have to kill to survive.” The hunters all looked skeptical. “Sehun, when was the last time you killed a human?”

“More than a year ago.”

“Impossible. That’s how you feed.”

“You’re wrong, Luhan.” Zitao pushed past Seungri and Kyungsoo. “They don’t need to kill a human to survive. They can be taught to control themselves, am I correct?” All of the vampires nodded. “How do you think Seunghyun is keeping his vampires alive, whilst keeping the humans alive as well? How do you think Sehun has survived?”

Luhan sighed. “The fact of the matter is, Zitao, I don’t _care_. They’re _vampires_ , and we kill them.”

Zitao reached towards his scarf, and slowly tugged it off of his neck, dropping the article on the floor, before reaching for the top buttons on his shirt. Slowly, they came undone, and the item slid off of his shoulders, revealing tan skin covered in scratches, bruises, and a myriad of bites. Everyone went still, Luhan’s gaze locked on Zitao’s. “What have you _done_?”

“This is proof. Proof that a vampire doesn’t need to kill to stay alive. That they can bite, and feed, without killing.”

“You let a vampire bite you?”

“I’ve been _feeding_ a vampire for over a year, Luhan. And I’m definitely still alive.” Luhan growled, stepped towards Zitao.

“You have betrayed us.”

“No. There is nothing in the code – don’t fight me on that, you know the code as well as I do – that says that I cannot let a vampire feed on me. If that were the case, there would be no feeder houses, and there’d be a whole lot more dead bodies around.” Luhan’s grip on his stake shifted, and Zitao drew his own. But before either of them could move, Sehun slid in between them, back towards Zitao.

“That’s enough.”

“Get out of my way, vampire.”

“No.” Luhan raised his stake. “You will not hurt him.” Luhan snarled, stepped closer. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not? It’s not like he’s _yours_.”

Zitao went still, and Sehun growled, low in his throat. “He is.” Zitao put a hand on Sehun’s back, as the vampire growled at Luhan. “Touch him, and I’ll kill you, and _then_ your hunters will have a reason to kill me, but not now.” He backed up, moving Zitao with him, until they were at least 10 feet away from Luhan. The hunter’s upper lip twitched, and he stormed out the back door, Kyungsoo and Seungri hurrying after him. One of the vampires behind Heechul turned, and slipped out of the house, going quickly out the front door.

“Siwon.” Heechul caught the hunter’s attention. “I can teach him to control himself. He isn’t exactly the most stable right now, I wouldn’t want to risk hurting anyone by sending an untrained vampire out on the streets.” Siwon nodded. “You will be allowed to see him, of course.”

“Thank you.” Siwon paused, and released Han Geng, but the vampire clung to his arm. “What’s going to happen to Seunghyun?”

Heechul sighed quietly. “I don’t want to kill him. He hasn’t _harmed_ any of my vampires, from what I know, but he has taken my brother’s mate, and some others who I hold very close to my heart.”

“I’ve spoken to him, but he won’t let them go.”

“I know. Jongdae’s told me. But he’s…I cannot allow him to keep doing this.” Siwon nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry.” After a long silence, Han Geng released Siwon, and stepped back to Heechul’s side, a soft glimmer in his eyes. “Ah. Sorry. He needs to feed.” Without saying anything else, Heechul stepped backwards, hand on Han Geng’s shoulder, and he led him out of the house.

Siwon turned towards Zitao and Sehun. “I suppose I’m in no position to criticize my brother now, am I? Given that my mate is a vampire, and so is yours, Zitao.” Zitao smiled, blushed bright red, pressed his face against Sehun’s shoulder. “I’ll see you at work.” He slipped out of the building, leaving the pair alone.

***

Minho sighed quietly as he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. This was a mess. A bloody mess. He leaned backwards against the wall, raised the cigarette to his lips again, and then froze when he heard the front door open. A vampire stepped out, ran a hand through his hair, and then spotted Minho.

He jumped down from the porch, gazed at the hunter for a long moment, before speaking quietly. “Mind if I join you?” Minho shrugged, and the vampire stepped forward, pulling his own cigarette from his pocket. “Zitao and Sehun are mates.”

Minho choked on air, nearly dropping his lighter as he pulled it out of his pocket. “I imagine Luhan didn’t take that too well.”

“No. He stormed out. Most of the hunters went with him.” The vampire paused, as he lit his cigarette. “He’s a brat. Why do you put up with _that_ as your leadership?”

“He’s a good hunter.”

“I’m a good vampire, but that doesn’t make me qualified to lead the vampires.” Minho laughed quietly. “I’m Taemin, by the way.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“I know, I just…” Taemin fell quiet. “What’s your name?” 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Minho pushed off of the wall, and started towards the street. “Try not to kill anyone, Taemin.”

“I won’t. I’m not…I’m not like that.” Minho laughed. “I’m not.”

Minho didn’t respond as he continued to walk away. He only paused when he got to the curb, and he looked over his shoulder. “Minho.”

“What?”

“My name is Minho.” He started forward again, and then stopped. “Oh, and Taemin?”

“Yeah?”

“Your hair is cute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did y'all catch my SHINee World lyric reference?


	6. last dance

“Why am I not surprised to find you here?”

Minho grinned as he turned, eyes finding Taemin immediately. “Why am I not surprised to find out that you’re a stripper?” Taemin smiled at him, stepped closer, right into Minho’s bubble. “I trust you haven’t killed anyone.”

Taemin’s smile widened. “Just for you.”

“I’m honored.” Minho reached around Taemin for the drink that the bartender had just set down, and raised it to his lips, but paused. “You can leave now.”

Taemin’s face fell, and Minho _almost_ felt bad. “I…” He seemed lost for words, as he watched Minho swallow, and set the glass down. “I…”

Minho raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have a job to do?”

Taemin shook his head. “I got off at 10.”

Minho cocked his head to the side in thought. “You got off, did you? And how was that for you?” Taemin looked confused, but then he understood, and flushed red. “It doesn’t look like it worked too well, to be honest, Taemin.” Another look of confusion, and Taemin’s blush deepened. “Mm, you’re cute.” Taemin made a soft noise in his throat. “Here’s a thought. How about you come with me, and sit on my lap?” Taemin let out a quiet, helpless sort of noise, nodding quickly. Minho took his hand, and he led the vampire across the room, through the throngs of dancing people, and to a table, where he sat down.

Taemin lowered himself into Minho’s lap, rather hesitantly, but before long, the hunter had hands on his waist, and was shifting him, until his legs opened, falling onto either side of Minho’s thighs. “Mm, that’s better, don’t you agree?” Taemin almost didn’t answer, as he squirmed, trying to get comfortable. “Hold still, Taemin.” After a long moment, the vampire obeyed, sinking back against Minho’s chest.

“Ah, look, Minho’s found a friend.” A pair of men – vampires, Taemin could smell that on them – approached them, sinking into chairs at the table. One of them, the taller of the pair, was the one who had spoken, and he leaned forward now, to look closer at Taemin. “Aww, he’s cute, Minho. Although,” His eyes roamed up and down the pair, “he doesn’t seem like your type.” He leaned backwards, then, smiling, the look almost catlike. “Although perhaps I don’t know you as well as I’d like to think I do.”

His companion laughed quietly. “Good evening, little brother.” The taller vampire choked on air, eyes flying wide open with surprise. “Oh, apologies. This brat is Kyuhyun, my loving and supportive friend. Kyuhyun, this is my baby brother, Taemin. Not biologically, of course, but, well, you know.”

Minho laughed quietly. “Of course we know, Donghae. No one actually believes that Heechul and his brothers are _honestly_ related.” Donghae laughed quietly, grinning at Taemin. “Don’t you two have something to do with yourselves? Like, I don’t know, fuck in a bathroom?”

Kyuhyun giggled. “Been there, done that.”

Minho sighed quietly. “Well, then, perhaps, dear, you can take Donghae home before he finds someone else to screw?” Kyuhyun turned quickly to Donghae, who snapped his eyes away from whatever – or whoever – he had been gazing at.

“Bitch, are you trying to find someone else-” Donghae and Kyuhyun were on their feet before Taemin had realized that they were moving. The younger was growling in Donghae’s face, hands fisted in his collar. “What, you think I’m not good enough for you? You think I’m not _on your level_? You think some _human_ can make you feel better than I can? You think I don’t fuck you good enough, huh, is that it?” Donghae growled back, hands clenching on Kyuhyun’s shirt.

“Go _home_ , Kyuhyun.”

“Why, so you can find someone else to fuck?”

“No, so you have time to think about what words just came out of your mouth before I punish you, unless you’d rather I do it here.” Kyuhyun went silent, before releasing Donghae, and stepping backwards. “Go home.” His voice had gone quiet, and Kyuhyun obeyed immediately. He was gone before Donghae spoke again. “I’m sorry about him. Taemin, I’ll see you around.” He looked ready to say more, and then looked at Minho. “Don’t make baby brother hurt too much, please?”

Taemin could hear the smile in Minho’s voice. “I’ll do my best.” And then Donghae, too, was gone. Minho slipped his hands down from Taemin’s waist and onto his thighs. “It’s about time.” The words were a quiet murmur against Taemin’s shoulder. “I thought they were never going to leave us alone.” Taemin let out a quiet whine, head tilting back against Minho’s shoulder. “Look at you, so pliant.” One hand brushed over Taemin’s crotch, and he let out a quiet keening noise. “Such a good boy, just for me.”

“Yes, yes, just for you, Minho, _please_.”

Minho nuzzled gently at Taemin’s neck, hands resting on the juncture of thigh and waist, too close, but not close enough. Taemin was squirming again, trying to get Minho to just fucking _touch_ him, but the hunter’s grip simply tightened, turned bruising on Taemin’s legs. “Mm, no, I don’t think so.” Taemin whined quietly, a wordless plea in Minho’s ear, but the hunter didn’t respond. “My silly little vampire.”

“Please, Minho, please, I want you to _touch_ me, please, I’ll be good, I’ll be so good, just for you, _please_.”

Minho’s teeth found his earlobe, and he bit down, bringing a pained whimper to Taemin’s lips. He shifted, trying to get away, but only succeeded in getting Minho to grab his crotch. He squealed, legs trying to close, but Minho growled quietly in warning, and Taemin went still, pliant, soft, in his grip. “You want to be good for me, Taemin?” The vampire nodded quickly, shaking in Minho’s arms. “How about I take you home with me, and you show me just how good my little vampire can be?” A quick nod, and then Minho was getting to his feet, helping Taemin with him, and tugging him towards the entrance to the club.

***

“Seunghyun, please, just _listen_ to me. I don’t want you to get hurt, I don’t want the vampires to come after you. You’ve taken some of the King’s prized possessions, and he’s not exactly happy about it.” Seunghyun turned his head lazily to gaze at Siwon and Leeteuk. “Please, just…let them go. They’ve done nothing to deserve this – you’ve disposed of the ones who’ve killed humans, all that’s left is the ones who don’t, the ones who are trying to live decently peaceful lives.”

Seunghyun rose to his feet, and came towards Siwon. “When did you start sympathizing with _vampires_ , Siwon?”

Siwon held still for a long moment, before speaking. “When they turned Han Geng, and Zitao proved that vampires don’t have to be killers.” 

That caught Seunghyun’s attention. “What are you talking about?”

Siwon let out a quiet breath. “Zitao is also sleeping with a vampire.”

“No, that part was implied. What do you mean, they turned Han Geng?”

Siwon looked away quickly, and Leeteuk put a hand on his arm, answered for him. “When Han Geng was kidnapped, it was the King who took him. It was also the King who turned him, because Han Geng was dying. He didn’t know that he and Siwon were mates. We’ve sorted it out now, but we’ve also divided the hunters. Luhan and his supporters refuse to believe that vampires are anything but murderers, and Zitao’s people believe…pretty much the opposite.” Seunghyun seemed shocked into silence. “Regardless, Heechul wants his vampires back, and he doesn’t want to have to hurt you to get them. He knows that harming you would hurt Siwon, and he, at the moment, is still begging for Siwon’s forgiveness in any way he can find.”

They were all startled when Jiyong appeared, pressing himself up against Seunghyun’s body as the hunter’s arm wound around his waist. He looked like he wanted to say something, and after a long, awkward, silent moment, he did. “Are you going to send me back there?” The question was clearly directed at Seunghyun, and Siwon could see, in his brother’s eyes, the way the question made him practically melt. There was more, then, to their relationship than he had first thought.

“I won’t. I won’t ever. He won’t ever touch you again.” Those words in particular caught Siwon’s attention, but he didn’t ask, as Seunghyun shifted Jiyong behind him. “Tell Heechul that if his vampires wish to return to him, then they may. But if they do not, then they stay with me. _That_ will be the diplomacy I offer.” Without another word, he spun on his heel, and walked away, bringing Jiyong with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hint hint - comments make me write more...
> 
> ALSO - chapter 7 is going to be the scene that takes place when Taemin and Minho get home and pork. If you don't appreciate, don't read. You can skip to chapter 8 (yes, I'll post both at the same time) and not miss anything important, other than taeminho fucking.


	7. lucifer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
> 
> This chapter contains a (poorly written...sorry) sex scene. Don't like, don't read. Sorry that it sucks.

Almost as soon as they entered Minho’s home, the hunter had Taemin pinned to the wall, fingers circling his wrists, and hold them still, mouth finding the vampire’s jaw. He bite down, and Taemin whined, squirming in his grip, but Minho didn’t let up. “Minho, Minho, _please_ -”

“Please _what_ , Taemin?”

Another whine, Taemin’s fingers curling into fists. “I wanna _touch_ you, please-” Minho smiled against his jaw, leaned down to mouth at his neck, still not releasing Taemin’s wrists. “ _Minho_ …” He sounded so adorably needy, Minho couldn’t help but cave, releasing his wrists, hands falling to the vampire’s waist. Taemin grabbed rather desperately at Minho’s shirt, pulling him impossibly closer, a soft growl in his throat.

Minho laughed quietly, gentle fingers finding the bottom of Taemin’s shirt, and he yanked it up, over his head, before catching Taemin’s jaw in his hand. “No fangs.” The vampire nodded quickly. “And Taemin, if you can keep yourself from biting, I’ll let you sleep with me when we’re done.” Another nod, this one more enthusiastic than the first, although Minho hadn’t thought that was possible. Minho smiled, pressed a gentle kiss to Taemin’s mouth, hand falling to rest on the waistband of his pants, and Taemin tugged impatiently on Minho’s shirt. “Breath, little one.”

“I’m not _little_!”

Minho laughed quietly. “Relax, Taemin, I wasn’t talking about your dick.” Taemin opened his mouth, but before he could get anything out, Minho had grabbed his crotch, and he gasped, clinging desperately to Minho. The hunter smiled, nimble fingers quickly unbuttoning his shirt, and he slid out of the article. “Give me a kiss.” Taemin leaned forward, pressed their mouths together, and within seconds, his hands were on Minho’s chest, pressing the hunter back against the opposite wall.

Minho laughed quietly, hands resting on Taemin’s waist. “You’re so…enthusiastic. I love it.” Taemin flushed, turned his face away, and Minho took advantage of it, pressing his mouth to the side of Taemin’s neck, and then biting down gently, not hard enough to draw blood. “Mm, I like you. I like you a lot, pretty Taemin.” With one hand still on Taemin’s waist, the other finding the back of his neck, he guided Taemin down the hallway, and through a door. He kissed the vampire again, sucked his lower lip into his mouth, and bit down. Taemin squeaked when he caught the scent of his own blood, but didn’t say anything.

A broken whine left his when Minho pressed him down onto a bed, his legs falling open. Minho laughed, kissed the tip of Taemin’s nose, fingers sliding down his chest, and onto his hips. “You’re so pretty, Taeminnie. So pretty.” With great care, he pushed the vampire’s pants off of his waist. “How do you want me?”

Taemin swallowed hard, and Minho smiled at him. “I don’t know.”

Minho leaned down, hands sliding underneath Taemin’s jaw, and he pressed a kiss to Taemin’s lips. “How shall I have you, Taeminnie?” A quiet whine, from the vampire, as Minho slid down his body, easing down onto his knees in between Taemin’s legs, fingers sliding under the waistband of his briefs, mouthing gently at his hipbone. “Go on, Taemin, touch me like you so desperately wanted to.”

Within a second, Taemin had a hand in his hair, fingeres scratching gently at his scalp, his other arm thrown over his face. “Let me see you, princess.” Taemin keened, the sound high and needy, as he reluctantly allowed his arm to drop. “Oh, you’re so beautiful.” Taemin laughed breathlessly, head dropping backwards as Minho tugged down his briefs, and then stood up. “I was going to suck you off, princess, but I don’t think you need any more foreplay.” Taemin laughed again, and Minho leaned down to kiss him, as nimble fingers tugged open his belt buckle, leather sliding through the loops. “Come on, now, let’s see how loud you can be.” With great care, Minho eased one finger inside of Taemin, kissing softly at his knee. “Shall I fuck you?”

“Please.”

At that word, Minho added a second finger, and Taemin whined, arching up against Minho, the sound intensifying when Minho’s fingers stretched him open. “Good boy, princess, good boy. You’re so good.” Taemin was breathing hard, and then Minho slid a third finger inside, he went still, back still arched, fingers clenched in the sheets. Minho bit down gently on his thigh, sucking gently. “Deep breath.” Taemin inhaled, and then released, and as tension bled from his muscles, Minho slid a fourth finger in, reveling in the soft moan that came from Taemin’s lips. When the vampire felt Minho’s thumb rubbing gently at his entrance, he bucked rather impatiently, whimpering softly. “Alright, princess.” Without ceremony, Minho pulled his fingers out, and then pressed a kiss to Taemin’s cheek. “You’re so demanding.”

Taemin whined. “Please, please, Minho, please, fuck me, I’ve been good, please-”

Minho kissed him on the mouth, cutting off whatever else he had wanted to say. “I will, princess.” He lifted Taemin’s knees, and pressed them to his shoulders, essentially folding the vampire in half, before fucking into him, slow and deliberate. Taemin moaned, arching against Minho’s body. “Good boy.” Taemin keened at the praise, pressing up to kiss Minho, whimpering quietly when the movement pressed at his prostate.

Without warning, Minho began to fuck him, gentle hands holding Taemin in place, nuzzling gently at his cheek. “Good boy, princess, my good boy.”

“Please, please, please, I’m-”

“Come for me, princess.”

Taemin went silent, mouth falling open as he arched backwards, coming all over his stomach. After a moment, Minho followed suit, and then collapsed on top of Taemin, murmuring gentle praise in his ear. “Good boy, you’re so good, you’re my pretty princess, you’re so good for me, aren’t you, such a good boy, so beautiful, so good for me, princess.” He shifted, so that his weight wasn’t all on Taemin’s chest, still whispering quiet praise in his ear. Taemin laughed quietly, and rolled onto his side, to face Minho. “Princess, go to sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*


	8. memories

“Why are you two here?”

Eunhyuk and Kangin exchanged a glance, before Kangin spoke, voice gentle, as if he was saying something offensive without wanting to offend anyone. “You are quite literally walking into the vampires’ nest.”

“And you think two more hunters would be able to get me out alive, if they turned hostile?”

Kangin shook his head. “No. We realize that no matter how many hunters Luhan sent with you, we wouldn’t be able to match the vampires.” Siwon raised an eyebrow. “We’re the…failsafe, if you will. In case Han Geng turns on you, and you…” He trailed off into silence, glanced once more at Eunhyuk. “If you cannot put him down, we will do it for you.” Siwon’s face contorted with something similar to disgust. “I know it isn’t ideal, Siwon. But we have orders.”

“Oh, as if Luhan cares.”

“He doesn’t, but we do. We don’t want to lose you.” Siwon scoffed. “Let’s face it, Siwon, you’re the only Choi who hasn’t gone completely off his rocker.” Eunhyuk’s choice of words seemed to surprise Siwon. “Oh. You didn’t…you didn’t know.” He paused, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. “Well. This is…awkward.” Siwon’s lips pressed together into a thin line. “Minho’s into…like, BDSM and shit. He gets off of telling people what to do. And he particularly enjoys doing it to vampires.” Siwon sighed heavily, turned back towards the vampire home.

It was large, far larger than he had originally anticipated, and out in the middle of nowhere – quite literally – which he had expected. It would be awkward if a human stumbled upon it by mistake. Siwon walked quickly to the front door, where a vampire – Kyuhyun, if Siwon remembered correctly from the last time he had been here – was standing, waiting for them. “Welcome back.”

“How is he?”

Kyuhyun smiled softly. “He’s progressing well. He went almost 12 hours yesterday without a relapse, which is good. Very good, for a newborn like him. Gods know it took me almost a year to get there.” Siwon made a thoughtful noise. “Granted, Han Geng is 10 times the vampire I was back then, so it makes sense.”

“How d’you mean?”

Kyuhyun tapped a finger on his lip in thought. “He wants so badly to be good. Well, to be a good vampire, anyways, and a good mate, for you. He doesn’t want to kill anyone, because he knows how upset you would be. And I think, most importantly, Siwon, he wants to hunt again. He loved that, you know, loved hunting with you.” Siwon nodded once. “Would they let him? Would your Lady, would _Luhan_ , let him hunt, as a vampire?”

“I…” Siwon paused, thinking. “I don’t know.”

Kangin cleared his throat, grabbing their attention. “There’s nothing that explicitly forbids it. If he truly desired to, I don’t think there’d be any issue concerning the code. But Luhan and the Lady…they might take issue with it, just because, well, he _is_ a vampire, and hunters…well, hunters kill vampires.”

Kyuhyun cocked his head to the side in thought. “Interesting.” Kangin looked away quickly, a soft blush rising on his cheeks. “I like you.” The blush deepened, and Kangin seemed to be trying to hide behind Eunhyuk. “Siwon, Heechul and Han Geng are right through that door.” Siwon nodded his thanks and stepped towards the door. The last thing he heard before it shut behind him was Kyuhyuk speaking softly to Kangin. “Will you take a walk with me, little hunter? I won’t hurt you.”

Siwon barely had time to process the implications of those words before he had his arms full of Han Geng, frantic fingers grasping his shirt, desperate mouth on his lips. Siwon chuckled, eased Han Geng’s grip off of his clothes, and eased him backwards so he could look the vampire in the eyes. They were red, but Heechul had told him that that was normal, at least for newborns. It meant his thirst was sated, for now.

“My, my, he’s excited to see you, isn’t he?” Heechul got to his feet, hands quickly adjusting his scarf to cover the bite mark on his neck. He had told Siwon about that, too, about how he let Han Geng feed on him, and how the bites took a day to heal. Siwon couldn’t help but be jealous, sometimes. “He’s like one of those army wives, when their husband comes home.”

Siwon laughed quietly, arm curling around Han Geng’s waist. “Tell me about him.”

Heechul smiled. “He’s doing so well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a newborn go as far as he has, in the time that he’s had. He’s been a vampire for, what, three weeks? And I’m sure Kyuhyun’s told you, he’s gone 12 hours. That’s the first time I’ve seen that, _ever_ , and I’ve been training vampires for over 200 years.”

“Is it true that he wants to hunt?”

Han Geng put an arm around Siwon’s neck. “I do. I wanna hunt again, Siwon, I wanna go home.” He pressed a kiss to Siwon’s throat, nuzzling gently at the skin there. Siwon could tell that Heechul was gazing at him, a dent of worry forming in between his eyebrows. “I’m not gonna bite, Heechul. He _smells_ nice.”

“That’s why I’m _worried_ , Han Geng.”

Han Geng pulled backwards, to face Heechul. “He’s my mate. I won’t bite him unless he asks me to.” Heechul had a hand in Han Geng’s hair, and had yanked him away from Siwon, before either of them had realized that he had moved. “Ow, Heechul, let me _go_ , I wasn’t gonna _hurt_ him.”

Heechul growled right in his ear. “I know you don’t intend to hurt him. But Han Geng, we have to remember that you aren’t completely in control. You remember what happened the other day.”

Han Geng growled right back. “And we both remember what happened yesterday, so fuck off.”

Heechul grabbed Han Geng’s wrists, pinning him in place, fingernails digging into his skin and drawing blood. Han Geng stiffened, growling low in his throat, still fighting against Heechul’s grip, but he couldn’t get anywhere. “That’s my point, Han Geng. You _can’t_ control yourself, Han Geng, not when it comes to blood.” Han Geng snarled. Siwon’s fingers were itching to grab his stake, but he simply clenched his hand into a fist. “Yeah, okay, point proven.” Heechul looked at Siwon for a long moment. “You might want to go home. I’ll make sure Eunhyuk and Kangin get home okay.”

“Are they…”

Heechul smiled. “Kangin’s with Kyuhyun. Eunhyuk is following them, making sure Kyuhyun doesn’t…try anything. He won’t; he’s a good kid. You don’t have to worry about Kangin.” Siwon nodded once, and stepped backwards, pausing at the door. “I’ll take care of Han Geng. I’ll have him call you later, alright?”

“Thank you.”

***

Kangin was almost certain that his cheeks were going to be permanently stained pink from how many times Kyuhyun made him blush. The vampire had woven so many cheesy, flirty little pick-up lines into their conversation, Kangin had stopped being surprised by it. He was surprised, however, by how many different compliments had dropped from Kyuhyun’s mouth.

Kyuhyun had led Kangin – and Eunhyuk, he was following, too – through the entire building, and out into a garden. Kangin had pulled ahead, to admire the roses that were in full bloom, fingers running gently over soft petals. “They’re beautiful.”

“Almost as beautiful as you.”

Kangin laughed quietly, glanced over his shoulder at Kyuhyun, who was gazing at him with nothing but pure adoration in his eyes. “You’re stupid.” Kyuhyun chuckled, stepped forward to stand beside Kangin. “But you’re cute.”

Kyuhyun smiled at him. “I have a question for you. And you don’t…you don’t have to answer it right away.” Kangin raised an eyebrow. “I was wondering if maybe you’d, perhaps, allow me the honor of courting you.”

Kangin burst out in a fit of giggles, clinging to Kyuhyun’s arm for support. Upon seeing the look on Kyuhyun’s face, he rushed to explain. “No, Kyuhyun, I’m not laughing at you, I just…the first thin that popped into my head was ‘aren’t you supposed to ask my father for permission?’” At those words, Kangin broke out in laughter too, but before long, they both faded into silence. Kangin stepped backwards, sensing a silent signal from Eunhyuk. “I have to go.” He started towards the doors, and Kyuhyun looked ready to follow, but a look from Kangin stopped him. The hunter paused at the door, halfway inside already, and looked at the vampire, who had already turned away. “Kyuhyun?”

He looked back over his shoulder at Kangin. “Yes?”

“It would be my pleasure to let you court me.” Without another word, he stepped inside, the door closing softly behind him.

Donghae found him out in the garden four hours later, sitting cross-legged on the ground. “So, you and the hunter?”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “Sounds like it.” He looked up at Donghae. “No offense, but his laugh is better than your ass any day.”

“None taken, Kyuhyun.” He smiled down at his friend. “Besides, have you seen _Eunhyuk’s_ ass?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have y'all caught on to my naming scheme yet? First person to comment it gets a free internet hug.


	9. wolf

“Mm, my dear, sweet little vampire.” Seunghyun leaned forward to nuzzle against Jiyong’s cheek, fingers stroking absently at the skin on his back, damp with sweat. It was hot in here, too hot for Jiyong to be totally comfortable, but Seunghyun liked it, liked not having to worry about fingertips or toes going numb, liked knowing that his muscles were loose and ready for a fight, and so Jiyong didn’t mind as much. He pressed closer to Seunghyun, rubbing their cheeks together, nipping gently at the shell of Seunghyun’s ear. “Do you need to feed?”

“Please.”

Seunghyun smiled, tilted his head to the side, pulled his collar away from his neck. “Go on.” Jiyong bit down, drawing blood, and sucking it down in the same instance. Seunghyun hummed quietly, thumb rubbing gently circles against Jiyong’s spine. “Mm, we have visitors.” Jiyong went tense, and Seunghyun’s hand slid out from underneath his shirt to rest on his thigh, murmuring quiet praise under his breath before the door opened.

Jiyong froze in place when he caught the scent of the vampires who had just entered the room. His fingers fisted in Seunghyun’s shirt, expensive fabric creasing in his grasp. He would pay for that later, but right now he needed to focus on keeping himself calm. Seunghyun wouldn’t let them take him. He wouldn’t let them _hurt_ Jiyong.

“You must be Heechul.”

“I am.” Jiyong heard him cross the room, and sit down in front of Seunghyun. He was trembling, now, and Seunghyun noticed, but didn’t react. “And you’ve taken something – or rather, some _things_ \- of mine.” Seunghyun made a thoughtful noise in his throat. “I want them back.”

“Surely Siwon passed along my message.” Heechul raised an eyebrow. “I told him to tell you that if your vampires want to return, they are more than welcome to. But if they don’t want to go, if they want to stay, then they are allowed.” Heechul scoffed quietly. “I could have them all killed, right now, you know.”

Heechul growled. “You are playing with forces beyond your control, Seunghyun. This is my _family_ that you’re toying with, and you will regret it, unless you hand them all over to me, _now_.”

Seunghyun laughed quietly, lifted his hand off of Jiyong’s thigh, and within seconds, Jiyong could hear a group of people – an even mix of vampires and hunters alike – enter the room. He pressed his face closer to Seunghyun’s neck, blood long-since forgotten, in an attempt to block out the fury he could feel radiating off of Heechul. “If they want to leave, they can. I will not stop them, nor will my hunters, you have my word. But if they want to stay, I expect you to allow them the same curtesy.”

Jiyong could sense the reluctance in Heechul’s agreement, but it was an agreement nonetheless. “Fine.”

Seunghyun relaxed fractionally, as his hand fell back down to Jiyong’s thigh. “Then we shall begin.” A pause, before he spoke again. “Youngbae?”

The vampire was shaking, full of fear, Jiyong could feel that even from here, even though Youngbae was on the other side of the room. That was just how terrified he was. “I’m going home.”

“Jinki?”

Jiyong turned his head just enough, so he could watch Jinki shoot a look at one of the hunters – Jonghyun, if Jiyong remembered correctly. “I’m staying.” The words were quiet, but Heechul’s growl was not. Jiyong watched as Jinki retreated backwards, and Jonghyun stepped in front of him, placing a barrier between Jinki and the King.

“Shindong?”

“I’ll stay.”

Another growl from Heechul, but it didn’t phase Seunghyun. “Yixing.” The vampire didn’t say a word, as he crossed the room, stepping into the arms of a vampire that Seunghyun had met before – Jongdae was his name, he was Heechul’s brother. That in itself silenced Heechul’s growl, but he was still tense, because he knew there was one other vampire. “Jiyong?”

The hesitation was clear, especially when Heechul spoke. “Come along, child. It’s time to go _home_.” When Jiyong turned to gaze at Heechul, there were tears in his eyes. He was scared; of disappointing Heechul, of disappointing Seunghyun, of disappointing _himself_. “Jiyong, don’t test me. Come. Home.”

After a long silence – Seunghyun’s hands had fallen from Jiyong’s body almost as soon as he had said the vampire’s name – Jiyong spoke, voice quiet and shaking. “No.” Heechul growled, but before he could say anything, Jiyong had spoken again. “I said no.” He got to his feet, pushing away from Seunghyun, and glaring at Heechul. “No. I won’t let you hurt me. Not ever.”

“Jiyong.” His glare faded into a straight face as soon as that word left Heechul’s mouth. “Come home to your family.”

Jiyong stepped forward, came to a stop in front of Heechul, their gazes locked, a soft smirk on Heechul’s face. They stayed there, for a long time, neither speaking, neither moving.

The silence was so heavy that everyone jumped when Jiyong punched Heechul in the nose. Yixing leaped forward, but before he could reach Jiyong, the vampire had vanished. They made to chase after him, but then Seunghyun was on his feet, stake in hand. “We had a deal. He told you no. Now get out.”

After a moment, the vampires obeyed, but Heechul paused at the door. “You will regret this. No one messes with my family, _no one_. I allowed you to give me rules to abide by out of kindness for Siwon. I won’t continue to do so. You will pay the price for stealing him away from me.”

Seunghyun growled at him. “Bring it.”

***

Minho really only woke up because someone was pounding on his front door, and he was worried that it might break. He couldn’t afford to have people breaking his house right now, and that was the only reason that he crawled out of bed, forcing himself away from Taemin’s warm body. He pulled on some pants and a shirt as he walked – he realized that it was Taemin’s shirt as soon as he reached the door – and pulled the front door open, revealing a furious looking Siwon, Zitao and Sehun standing behind him.

He sighed quietly, but let them in. They both stopped in the hallway, and Siwon was quick to speak. “First of all, _why_ in the fuck are all of the hunters sleeping with vampires? When did this become a thing? Second, Han Geng is going crazy, according to Heechul, and _finally_ , Heechul wants to kill our brother, and what are you doing? Having a lazy morning in with _Taemin_ , of all the vampires!” He cut off with a disgusted little huff, finally allowing Minho a chance to speak, but before he could, Sehun cut him off.

“I spoke with Heechul this morning. He won’t harm us, but he’ll do whatever it takes to make Seunghyun give back Jiyong, whether or not we agree with it.” Minho ran a hand through his hair, biting at his lip. “Which is the funny part, because he gives zero fucks about any of his other vampires being mated to a human, but when it’s _Jiyong_ , all of the sudden it’s a big deal.”

They all jumped when Taemin spoke, coming slowly down the hallway, dressed in soft pants, and nothing else. “Because he and Jiyong used to be…I don’t know. Fuckbuddies, I guess. Like Donghae and Kyuhyun.” He sighed quietly, wrapped an arm around Minho’s waist. “But you’re right, it’s stupid. Seunghyun and Jiyong were meant to be together, even an idiot could see that. It’s just that Heechul gets jealous, especially when, well, it comes to Jiyong.”

Minho sighed quietly. “I’ll speak to him.”

“There’s no use. He’ll kill you too, if he has to.”

Zitao let out a thoughtful noise. “I want to speak to Jonghyun and Kibum.” At everyone’s looks of surprise and confusion, he explained. “Well, they’re his brothers, aren’t they? Biologically, I mean. Not like the others.”

Sehun smiled. “Smart kid, this one.”

Taemin laughed quietly, and then Siwon spoke softly. “Kyuhyun is courting Kangin.” Taemin started, head knocking against Minho’s head. “And Donghae’s just trying to get into Eunhyuk’s pants, not that the brat’s going to let him until he proves that he’s worthy.” Soft laughter, from Minho and Zitao. “Let’s see…Han Geng and me, Kyuhyun and Kangin, Donghae and Eunhyuk, Taemin and Minho, Sehun and Zitao, Jiyong and Seunghyun…who else, Zitao, remind me.”

“Jinki and Jonghyun, Shindong and Sungmin.”

Taemin grinned. “So it really is just Heechul just being stupid. If it were a matter of vampires vs hunters, Heechul wouldn’t have allowed it to get this far. That’s…good, I guess. It means we still have a chance to talk – or knock, if necessary – some sense into him.”


	10. loser

Luhan’s fingers finally released the letter in his hand, and it dropped to the floor. He glared into the mirror on the opposite wall, hand falling to rest on his stake. Yifan had brought him the letter an hour ago, and he’d read it at least 12 times, enough times that he could recite it from memory, but _gods_ he had never anticipated how much _anger_ those words could pull to the surface.

_Luhan,_

_I’m sure that, by now, someone has already told you of the predicament concerning myself and your hunter, Seunghyun, so I’ll spare you the details. Simply put, he’s taken something of mine, and refuses to give it back. Unfortunately for him, I don’t intend to give up as easily as he might have hoped I would._

_I will kill him, if I have to. And I will kill any hunter, any human, any vampire, who tries to stand in between me and my property. I ask that you do not get in my way. Keep your hunters safe, keep them in line, and you and I won’t have a problem._

_Respectfully,  
Heechul Kim_

Luhan had been seething ever since he had read it the first time. Because sure, he wasn’t exactly Seunghyun’s biggest fan at the moment, but Heechul, the vampire King, had just threatened a human, had just threatened a _hunter_ , and the thought of letting that go without any fight didn’t sit well in Luhan’s stomach.

“Yifan!”

Within seconds, the hunter had entered the office, eyebrow raised. “Luhan.”

“Heechul has threatened Seunghyun.” Yifan inhaled, nostrils flaring. That was a dangerous move, from the King, and they both knew it. “Here are your orders. Send a patrol to collect Seunghyun, his vampire, and any others who may be with him, and bring them here. If they try to fight, leave them behind. I want a constant lookout, eyes on anywhere the vampires could come into this city at all times. No vampire, no human, no _hunter_ moves without my knowing it. The city is on lockdown. No hunters, no vampires, will leave, and none of Heechul’s vampires will enter unless they come offering a truce.” Yifan nodded. “When Seunghyun arrives, send him to me. And…have Siwon, Zitao…well, you know which hunters I want to speak with, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Good. Then you’re dismissed.” Yifan nodded once, and stepped out of the room, leaving Luhan alone. He sank down into his seat, hand over his eyes, a broken sigh coming from his lips. When he heard the door to the office open, he looked up, gaze finding Zitao and Sehun, Minho and another vampire beside him. “Surely you’ve heard.”

Zitao nodded, glanced at Sehun, and then at Minho. “We have. All of the vampires know. Well, that Heechul’s…threatened Seunghyun.”

Luhan closed his eyes, deep in thought. “This isn’t a fight we can win by physical power.”

He was surprised when Sehun spoke, voice quiet. “I will stand with the hunters.” That seemed to shock everyone in the room, Zitao included. “Heechul will stop for two reasons; if Seunghyun gives Jiyong back, or if he believes that he cannot win the fight. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Minho nodded. “It’s become very clear that Seunghyun does not intend to return Jiyong to Heechul. I would never ask him to.” Luhan hummed in affirmation. “I’ve sent Kangin and Kyuhyun to speak with him, as a formality. We both know it won’t change anything.” He paused. “Right now my biggest concern is Han Geng and Siwon. Currently, Han Geng is residing with the vampires, because Heechul believes – and is quite correct in this – that he cannot control himself. I worry about what Siwon might do.”

Luhan sighed softly. “I’ll speak with him. Don’t let him leave this building.” Zitao nodded, and turned, pulling Sehun with him as he left the room. “Minho, aren’t you going to introduce this one?”

Minho blinked in surprise. “Oh. Oh. This is Taemin. Taemin, this is Luhan.” The vampire waved shyly at Luhan, pressing closer to Minho than he had thought was possible. “I’m going to…go find Siwon.” Without another word, he and Taemin retreated backwards. Luhan laughed quietly under his breath as they left, before his mind refocused on the matter at hand.

***

Seunghyun found Jiyong outside, sitting underneath a large tree, shaking like a leaf and sobbing into his hands. He didn’t speak as he lowered himself to the ground beside the vampire, not touching, though his fingers itched to. They remained like that for a long time, before Jiyong finally moved, crawling into Seunghyun’s lap, clinging to him like the hunter was a lifeline, and he was drowning. Seunghyun’s hands settled on his waist, rubbing gentle circles into his hipbones. “He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him, Jiyong. I made you a promise, and I’m not going to break it.”

“But I don’t want _you_ to get hurt.”

Seunghyun smiled gently at him. “I won’t. You have my word, I won’t let him hurt me, and I won’t let him hurt you, not ever. Jiyong sobbed again, buried his face in Seunghyun’s shoulder. “Jiyong, we’re going to be okay. It’ll be alright, I won’t let him touch us.”

Seunghyun glanced over Jiyong’s shoulder, and spotted a vampire approaching, a hunter at his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow, but neither of them spoke, before they came to a halt in front of him. The hunter spoke first, voice quiet. “Seunghyun, may we have a word?” He nodded, but didn’t move, even when the hunter sat down in front of him. The vampire remained standing. “It’s about…well, this.” He motioned at Jiyong. “Your brothers have asked me to intervene. They don’t want you to be killed; quite frankly, I don’t either. And we both know that Heechul will kill you if he feels it’s necessary, just to have Jiyong back.”

“I’m not going to _give Jiyong back_. Heechul’s going to have to pry him from my cold, dead hands.” At those words, Jiyong whined out loud, right in Seunghyun’s ear, and the hunter’s grip on him tightened. “I’m sorry.”

The vampire was the next to speak. “Let’s go, Kangin. There’s no point.”

Kanging rose to his feet, but didn’t follow the vampire as he walked away. “Seunghyun, please, please, think of your family, think of your friends, think of _Jiyong_. Do you think any of them, us, want you to die?” Without another word, he retreated backwards, following his companion into the forest, leaving Jiyong and Seunghyun alone.

***

“My gods, you’re like a cat in heat.”

Jongdae growled as he pushed on Yixing’s shoulders, rolling him about so he was pressed into the mattress, Jongdae sitting on top of him. “I haven’t seen you in _ages_.” He leaned forward, nose gliding along Yixing’s neck, hips rolling down. Yixing’s hands found his waist, and he held him still, but Jongdae merely bit into his neck, drawing a quiet moan from Yixing’s lips.

“Jongdae, stop _scenting_ me.”

A growl, from Jongdae. “You smell like _hunters_.”

“Of course I do, I was kidnapped by one, and forced to live around them for well over six months, you _know_ this.”

Jongdae let out a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a whine. “I don’t _like_ it. You’re mine, you’re a vampire, you shouldn’t smell like…like _them_. It’s not right.” He pressed his face against Yixing’s skin, still growling quietly as his hands roamed down Yixing’s body and onto his thighs. “You’re mine, and I’m going to claim you again, so no hunter ever thinks about touching you ever again.” His grip on Yixing’s thigh tightened, and he bit down again on his neck. This time, his fangs were out, and they slid easily through Yixing’s skin.

“You’re insatiable.” The words held no heat behind them, and so Jongdae didn’t let up, holding Yixing in place. “But you’re so beautiful, my darling Jongdae, so very pretty.” Those words had Jongdae hissing and spitting, like a feral cat. “Gods, you _are_ a cat.”

“Shut _up_.”

“Make me.” Jongdae obliged, swooping down to capture Yixing’s mouth in a kiss, pulling a quiet moan from his lips. Within seconds, Yixing had Jongdae on his back, legs spread open. “So now it’s my turn to claim _you_.”


	11. love sick

“Hey, are you free on Friday night?”

Kangin squawked with surprise when Kyuhyun appeared at his side. He nearly tripped over his own feet, but Kyuhyun caught him, held him upright. Kangin cleared his throat, glanced at the clock, and then spoke. “It’s the United States, Kyuhyun, I’m always free.” Kyuhyun laughed quietly. “No, I’m kidding. As for whether or not I’m actually free…that depends. Why do you ask?”

Kyuhyun bit his lip. “I was wondering if maybe you wanted to have dinner. With me.”

Kangin snorted. “Unfortunately for me, Kyuhyun, dinner for you means feeding on a human.”

Kyuhyun hesitated, but responded, voice dropping in volume. “I know. That’s…that’s what I meant.” Kangin flushed. “I’m sorry, I thought…I’ll just go.” He turned on his heel, and made to walk away, but Kangin grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

“You want to bite me.”

It wasn’t a question, but Kyuhyun answered anyway. “Well, yes. I’ve wanted to bite you since I met you.” Kangin’s draw dropped in disbelief. “No, no, it’s not like that. I love you, Kangin, not just because you smell nice – you do, by the way, you smell _really_ nice. I love _you_. The fact that your blood is pretty much singing to me is just a bonus.” Kangin looked mildly terrified, when Kyuhyun stepped closer to him, hands resting on his hips. “I won’t, if you don’t want me to. That’s why I asked, you see, to make sure we were…were on the same page.”

Kangin cleared his throat before speaking. “So you, ah, you want to feed. On me.” Kyuhyun nodded. “Are we going to be like…like Sehun and Zitao?”

“Living together, fucking at every opportunity? Probably not. Mates? I think we both know that we already are, Kangin.” The hunter nodded slowly, leaning against Kyuhyun’s chest. “There’s someone else, isn’t there? Someone else you were with before me?”

“What? No. Never. No one.” Kyuhyun looked critical. “Why would you ever think that? Kyuhyun, I love you, you know that. And you said it yourself, we’re…we’re mates, why would I ever want to change that?” Kyuhyun pulled his arm out of Kangin’s grip, and tried to walk away, but Kangin stepped in front of him. “What’s your _problem_?”

“Heechul threatened Seunghyun and now he’s asking me to choose between him and you.” Kangin fell still, and Kyuhyun stepped around him. “I’m not going to make that decision.” Without another word, he stepped out of Kangin’s apartment. Kangin stood at his door, forehead resting on the wood, for a long time, unmoving.

“Kangin?”

“Eunhyuk.”

“Why are you doing that?”

The hunter turned to face Eunhyuk, tight smile on his lips. “Where’s Donghae?” He knew the answer to that question, he could sense the vampire hovering just underneath the outside of the window, balanced on the thin outcropping below. But he knew it would get Eunhyuk’s mind off of Kangin’s problems, and that was why it mattered.

“I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t _care_. The stupid thing’s been following me around all day, and quite frankly, I’m sick of it. It’s creepy as fuck when he - _it_ \- does that.” Kangin heard the quiet thump, when Donghae’s head knocked against the wall, and felt the absence of pressure on the runes protecting his home when the vampire dropped to the ground. Eunhyuk felt it too, and his face immediately creased with worry. “He heard me.” Kangin nodded. “He was there the entire time.” Another nod. “And you didn’t _tell me_ , you stupid fucker?”

Kangin didn’t respond, and Eunhyuk threw himself down onto the couch, pulling his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on top of them. “I don’t hate him.” Kangin went about whatever he’d been doing before Kyuhyun had showed up. “I mean, it is creepy, when he does that, at least that’s what part of me says. But the other part…is it weird, that I enjoy having all of his attention on me? Gods, I’m such a narcissistic asshole.” Kangin laughed quietly. “I’m sorry, I need to go find him.” Without another word, he got to his feet, and jumped out the window.

***

Luhan had gathered the hunters in a large room at the office, and he stood at the front, Yifan at one shoulder, Leeteuk at the other. The vampires who had chosen to stand with the hunters were off to the side, standing beside their respective mates. The only hunters missing were Siwon, and Kangin, and Luhan knew that both were at Heechul’s at the moment – Siwon checking up on Han Geng, Kangin playing ‘concerned mate’ and looking for Kyuhyun. Gods, Luhan hated having them so close to the enemy, but both vampires were former hunters, and so he had to allow some…flexibility, especially since they were mated.

“Yifan.” The senior hunter turned to him. “Report, please.”

Yifan took a deep breath. “Most of the hunters and vampires that were with Seunghyun came home. He told me that some of them had chosen to go home with Heechul and he allowed it. Only one couple didn’t come – Jonghyun and Jinki. They ran off, but Seunghyun doesn’t think they’re running to Heechul.” Luhan nodded once. “Patrols haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary, but that’s not exactly reassuring, given how quickly a vampire can move. None of our vampires have reported anything, but we suspect that Heechul knows, or at least has some level of suspicion, that they’ll stand against him. I haven’t heard from Siwon or Kangin, but they’ve not been gone too long. They should have arrived at Heechul’s, like, twenty minutes ago.”

“Which is plenty of time for the bastard to kill them.”

“He won’t.” Luhan raised an eyebrow. “He knows that if he does, we’ll go to war, and regardless of what he says, he doesn’t want that. He knows that, seeing as we have vampires on our side now, his chances of winning are about halved, and he doesn’t like those odds.”

“You sure know a lot about him.”

“He’s easy to read, especially since Tao and I spoke to his brothers. Or, well, we spoke to Kibum. Not Jonghyun, obviously.” Luhan hummed in affirmation of that statement. “I won’t let him hurt any of us.”

***

Heechul sighed quietly, rose to his feet, and walked towards his brothers. “So it’s true?” They nodded. “Fuck. I didn’t want this to happen. I knew, when we started finding out that vampires and hunters could be – and _are_ \- mated, that it would be a pain in my ass.”

“They’re sending a patrol to the…the unofficial border, if you will, to meet with you.”

Heechul laughed quietly. “They think they can negotiate.” He looked at the brother who had spoken. “Jongin, my littlest brother. You’ll come with me. And,” He glanced around at the others who had formed a loose semicircle. All of them were there. “Joonmyun. You can come as well. Minseok, you’re in charge until I get home.”

“But _I’m_ older!”

Heechul slapped Ryeowook, and the vampire flew backwards, hit a wall. “And clearly, he’s more mature. My orders were clear, brother, I expect that you obey.”

Heechul started to the door, and Joonmyun and Jongin followed at his shoulders. “I won’t let these hunters take advantage of us. I will not allow them to continue to take _my_ vampires. This ends tonight.”

***

Leeteuk and Yifan exchanged a glance when they spotted movement from across the border. “Is that them?” Leeteuk nodded once. He knew that oily grace anywhere. It was Heechul, and he had brought two vampires with him. From what Leeteuk could tell, it was two of his brothers. Yifan looked over his shoulder, and Kyungsoo stepped forward. “There’s three of them, three of us. The rest of you, go back to your posts.” A brief silence, and then, one by one, each of the other hunters retreated back, until it was just the three at the border remaining.

“I take it you’re Heechul?”

“I am. And who does that make…well, all of you.”

Leeteuk and Yifan exchanged another glance. “My name is Leeteuk, this is Yifan, and that’s Kyungsoo.” A short pause, before Heechul spoke again, voice soft.

“These are two of my brothers, Jongin and Joonmyun.” Silent nods from Yifan and Leeteuk; Kyungsoo remained motionless. “What does Luhan think he can gain from this…negotiation?”

Leeteuk took a deep breath, before he spoke. “He doesn’t want a war. None of us do.” Heechul opened his mouth to speak, but Leeteuk cut him off. “You know Jiyong’s not yours. So why are you trying to force it?” Heechul’s upper lip twitched, and he looked about ready to jump across the border and murder Leeteuk, but one of his brothers – Joonmyun – put a hand on his arm, and he went still. “You want to know what I think, Heechul?”

“Enlighten me.”

“I think that you’re only doing this, only going through with this fight, because you want to prove that you’re the biggest, baddest vampire out there. You want to prove that you’re the greatest thing to ever walk the planet. You’ve been itching for a reason to attack the hunters for years; your opportunity came in the form of Jiyong _willingly_ leaving you for a hunter.” Heechul didn’t speak, but the look on his face told Leeteuk more than he needed to know. “That was a blow to your pride, wasn’t it, and the big, bad vampire King gets _angry_ whenever his _pride_ takes a hit.”

That time, Heechul did leap across the border, collided with Leeteuk, but before he could do anything else, the hunter had a stake in his stomach. Yifan and Kyungsoo both moved to attack, but Leeteuk stopped them. “No. Watch his brothers.” They obeyed, turning their backs on Leeteuk, though it was unwilling, on Kyungsoo’s part. Heechul growled, but didn’t try to attack. “You’ve just proven my point. If anyone, _anyone_ , questions your judgement, your first reaction is violence. And now, now, Heechul, you’ve given Luhan a perfectly valid reason to go to war with you.”

“He can’t prove this happened if none of you make it out alive.”

Leeteuk laughed. “You think I hadn’t thought of that? You think I haven’t prepared for every single possible scenario? Luhan’s seen the entire thing, and the only thing stopping him from going to war with you right now is me.”

“Why don’t you do it, then? Make the fucking call, Leeteuk.”

“Yifan, enough.” Leeteuk pulled back from Heechul, but twisted his stake, keeping the vampire pinned in place. “Let Jiyong go. Let this whole stupid war thing go.”

“If I do it,” Heechul paused. “You won’t go to war over this?” Leeteuk raised an eyebrow. “ _Fine_. Seunghyun can have the bitch. I don’t want him.” He yanked himself away from Leeteuk, and stepped back across the border, rejoining his brothers. “But I’ll be coming to speak with you, _soon_. Don’t forget who you’re dealing with, _human_.”


	12. sorry sorry

Leeteuk shrieked quietly, jumping backwards and colliding with the bookshelf behind him, when Heechul appeared in the chair at his desk, one leg crossed over the other. He had a smart phone in his hand, and seemed to be scrolling through…either Instagram, or something in the news. Leeteuk was inclined to believe it was the latter. He didn’t look up, face emotionless. “Have a seat, Leeteuk.”

After a moment, Leeteuk lowered himself into a seat across from the vampire. They sat in silence for a long time.

“Fifteen.” Leeteuk raised an eyebrow in question. “That’s how many humans have died, down South, since Friday.” Leeteuk blinked quickly, and then Heechul looked up at him. “I don’t think you need any proof that it’s vampires are doing it, but I’ll prove it anyways. One of my darling friends runs the territory down there, and when I told him that hunters have started meddling in my family affairs…well. He was more than happy to…shall we say, send a message.”

Leeteuk stiffened. “Are you serious?”

Heechul looked unimpressed. “Deadly.”

“Heechul, we both know that you didn’t want to go to war. We both know you didn’t actually want Jiyong back. We both _know_ that you’re the biggest and the baddest, and that you don’t have to _prove_ it.” Leeteuk leaned across the desk, balanced on his elbows. “Tell him to stop.”

“No.” Leeteuk growled. “You hunters think you can control my family, you think you can control _me_ , and that’s bullshit.” Leeteuk opened his mouth to argue, but Heechul cut him off. “Don’t lie to me. This game that your leader has concocted, it’s all about _control_ , it’s about being the best. I will not let a _human_ be better than me.”

“If you stop him,” Heechul scoffed. “I’ll do whatever you want, Heechul. Just tell him to stop.” Heechul raised an eyebrow. “Please.”

“Whatever I want?” Leeteuk nodded slowly. “ _Really_?” Another nod. “Pass.” Heechul got to his feet, walked around the desk, and towards the door. He paused, though, hand on the handle, when Leeteuk spoke.

“I’ll sleep with you.” Heechul froze in place, and Leeteuk stood, came to stand beside Heechul. “If it’s about power, as you say it is, then what’s better demonstration of your superiority than the King of the vampires sleeping with the second in command of the hunters?”

Heechul turned to look at him. “Is this a joke?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Heechul’s nostrils flared, eyes darkening, and Leeteuk leaned away from him. Heechul stepped forward, backing Leeteuk into the wall, hands on either side of his head. He leaned forward, breath hot on Leeteuk’s ear. “If you’re serious about this,” Leeteuk bit back a whine. “you’ll come see me on Wednesday night.” Leeteuk nodded once. “And if you aren’t, you won’t.” Without another word, he vanished.

Leeteuk exhaled, leaning back against the wall. Oh gods. What had he gotten himself into?

*

***

*

Siwon pushed himself off of Han Geng’s chest when he heard Heechul enter the room. “Get up, both of you.” Han Geng growled quietly, rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into a pillow when Siwon crawled off of him. “I’m moving the two of you to the other end of the building.” Siwon opened his mouth to ask why, but Heechul cut him off. “I’m having a…a guest over, tomorrow night, and our meeting will most likely – meaning definitely – get heated. I wouldn’t want to distract either of you.”

“Heated in a good way, or a bad way?” Han Geng mumbled out the words, and Heechul smiled fondly at him, though the anger in his eyes remained.

“Ah, my child. I’ve trained you well.” Han Geng laughed quietly. “The answer, I believe, is both.” Siwon sighed quietly, reached over to pull Han Geng up into a seated position. “You remember the room that Han Geng used to stay?” Siwon nodded. “That’s where you’ll go.” They got to their feet – Han Geng rather slowly, exhaustion still slowing his movements. “Oh, and dear Siwon, if you see Kyuhyun, tell him that Daesung and Youngbae were looking for him. They need a word.” Siwon nodded once as he pulled Han Geng from the room, leaving Heechul alone.

As they made their way down the hallway, they spotted a trio of people – two of them vampires – coming towards them. Siwon stepped out of the way, and Han Geng followed suit, as they came past. “Good morning – well, afternoon – you two.”

“Good morning, Jongin, Joonmyun.”

Jongin sighed with relief. “Please, Siwon, take this hunter off of my hands.” Without waiting for a response, he pushed the hunter towards Siwon, and swept away, leaving them alone.

“Uh. Yifan?”

The hunter flushed. “I…hi. Hello. This…this isn’t what it looks like.”

Joonmyun giggled quietly, grabbed Yifan’s wrist and pulled him backwards. “Thank the _gods_ , he’s finally gone. Come on.” Without waiting for a response from any of the hunters, he tugged Yifan along with him, leading the hunter through a door.

Siwon turned to Han Geng, blinking slowly. “What the fuck.” Han Geng laughed quietly. It was his turn to take Siwon’s wrist in his hand, and led him down the hallway. “No, seriously. You remember how hard Yifan protested against…well, anything regarding vampires and hunters being together, in any way, shape or form, and now…” He paused. “Now he’s _sleeping_ with Joonmyun.”

Han Geng tutted quietly. “Now, Siwon, you don’t know that.” Siwon rolled his eyes. “Okay, yeah, they’re definitely sleeping together, but we can’t just assume things like that. They might be…uh. Well. Yeah, you’re right. There’s legitimately nothing else they could be doing.”

Siwon laughed quietly, put an arm around Han Geng’s shoulders. “I love you.”

“And I love you.”

*

***

*

Eunhyuk fell still about 12 feet behind where Donghae was sitting, cross-legged, beside the river. His hands were on his knees, and he wasn’t breathing, but Eunhyuk wasn’t worried. Vampires didn’t, unless they made a conscious effort. After a long moment, he let out a quiet sigh. “I can hear you breathing.” Eunhyuk didn’t respond, but he did come forward, and sit beside Donghae, mirroring his position. “It’s creepy, you know, when you follow people around like that.”

His voice was quiet, gentle, but his words stung, and Eunhyuk felt tears prick the back of his eyes. After a long moment, he spoke. “I’m sorry.” Donghae snorted quietly. “I shouldn’t have said what I said. I didn’t mean it.”

“Yeah, well, it sure as hell sounded like you did.” He sounded hurt, wounded, angry, and Eunhyuk couldn’t blame him. “I get it, you don’t like vampires. You’re a hunter; it makes sense. But I thought you’d at least give me a chance. I haven’t killed anyone. I’m one of five vampires who hasn’t, in this territory. I thought that would mean something to you.”

Donghae didn’t move, but Eunhyuk knew that he was done with the conversation. “I’m sorry.” Eunhyuk got to his feet, and walked away, but then paused. “It does, you know.”

“What?”

“It does mean something. That you haven’t…killed anyone.” Donghae turned, eyes finding Eunhyuk’s gaze. “And also…” He paused, teeth digging into his lower lip. “I think you’re very pretty.” He walked away, but Donghae scrambled to his feet, and was at his side in a second. “I-”

Donghae silenced him with a kiss. Eunhyuk let out a quiet whimper, before his hands found Donghae’s shoulders. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, before Donghae pulled away, smiling. “Come home with me.” Eunhyuk hesitated. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

“I…fine.”

Donghae kissed Eunhyuk again, fingers sliding under his jaw. “Come on.”


	13. history

Sehun wound an arm around Zitao’s waist, and tugged the hunter back against his chest, pressing a gentle kiss to his neck. “What’s on your mind?” Zitao shrugged, didn’t answer, eyes never once straying from the horizon. “Is something wrong?” Another shrug. “Zitao, don’t lie to me. You can tell me.”

“It’s Leeteuk.”

Sehun hummed quietly. “What did he do this time?”

Zitao sighed, and turned in Sehun’s arms, to face him. “Evidently Heechul came to pay him a visit. Something about…Heechul’s friend, down South, and people dying, and how Heechul felt the need to prove that he’s the most powerful vampire.” Sehun raised an eyebrow. “Leeteuk made a deal with him.” Sehun’s face creased with confusion. “He left, an hour ago. Apparently, I’m the only one who knows about this. He’s going to let Heechul fuck him, as an…affirmation of his power.”

Sehun sighed quietly, grip tightening on Zitao. “Idiot.” Zitao hummed softly in affirmation. “But he is an adult. He can make his own decisions, and if that happens to be one of them…well. We can’t exactly tell him no, can we? Not if it saves people.”

Zitao pressed a kiss to Sehun’s mouth, slid his arms around his neck. “You remember when we met?” Sehun nodded. “And you tried to kill me?” Another nod, this one accompanied by a soft smile. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“I love you the most.”

“I love you the mostest.”

“That’s not a word.” Sehun laughed quietly, leaned his forehead against Zitao’s shoulder. “Ah, pretty Sehun.” The vampire scoffed, grip tightening on Zitao’s waist. “You’re so beautiful. And you’re all mine.” A quiet hum of affirmation. “My darling vampire. So pretty.”

“Gods, you’re such a sap.”

“Shut up.”

Sehun laughed. “You know what else I remember about when we met?” Zitao raised an eyebrow. “ _You_ tried to kill _me_.” Zitao chuckled softly. “Remember? You grabbed my dick to distract me, and it totally worked.” That time, Zitao laughed out loud, pressing closer to Sehun. “And I believe you said something along the lines of-”

“Oh my gods, shut up-”

“What was it? Oh, yes. ‘If you were human, I’d let you fuck me.’” Zitao went bright red, burying his face into Sehun’s shoulder. “That worked out great for you, didn’t it?”

“Shut up. Shut _up_. Oh gods, you’re the one who told me that you’d never fuck a hunter, you stupid ass!” Sehun laughed, and within seconds, Zitao found himself on the floor. “And if I remember correctly, you’ve fucked me a whole bunch since then.”

Sehun finally stopped laughing, and smiled at Zitao. “Alright, alright, darling. Point taken. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t tease you.” Zitao growled at him quietly. “Oh, hush. You’re the one who started it, with your stupid comment.”

“Yeah, but you _continued_ it, which is just as bad.”

Sehun laughed quietly again, and then cut off when someone knocked at the door. He swore under his breath, and then forced out a rather upset “ _what_ ”

“Oh. Uh. Sehun. It’s…”

“Yes, I can smell you, Luhan.”

An awkward cough. “I need to speak to Zitao, please.” A long silence, and then Sehun got to his feet. He walked towards the door, and pulled it open, allowed Luhan to walk into the room. “You can leave.” Sehun didn’t move, but Luhan didn’t comment, as he continued toward Zitao. “Where’s Leeteuk?” 

Zitao shrugged. “Excellent question.” Luhan shot him a withering sort of look. “Do I look like a GPS, Luhan?”

*

***

*

Siwon was very familiar with Han Geng’s patterns, and therefore, it didn’t surprise him when he spotted the glint in Han Geng’s eye. His first instinct was to go find Heechul, but he knew that the King wouldn’t want to be disturbed. So he pulled Han Geng closer, looked him in the eyes, and spoke softly. “Make me a promise.”

“Alright.”

“Promise that you won’t lose control.” Han Geng nodded, confusion in his eyes, and then Siwon tilted his head back, exposing his throat to Han Geng. The vampire whimpered, leaned forward, pressing his nose against smooth skin, and Siwon shuddered. “Will it hurt?”

“Only for a moment.”

Siwon nodded once. When Han Geng bit down, after a long moment of nuzzling against Siwon’s neck, the hunter stiffened, grip on Han Geng tightening, before he went limp.

When Han Geng pulled away, Siwon was trembling. He was clinging to Han Geng’s forearms, whining softly in his ear. “Kiss me.”

Han Geng obliged, and Siwon whimpered quietly. “Siwon, darling, breath for me.” Siwon took a deep breath, and Han Geng smiled, nibbling along the shell of Siwon’s ear. “You’re so beautiful. And you _taste_ absolutely _sinful_ , my darling.” Siwon laughed quietly, and Han Geng giggled. He pressed closer to Siwon, snuggling into his grip, and Siwon smiled. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, dearest.”

*

***

*

Leeteuk was a bundle of nerves as he stood outside of Heechul’s door, hands shaking hard. Minseok had dropped him off there, a knowing smile on his face, before he vanished into the depths of the building. Leeteuk had been waiting for about 10 minutes, before he raised a hand, and knocked gently on the door. After a long moment, Heechul answered. “Come in.”

Leeteuk pushed the door open, and stepped inside, trying to will himself to stop trembling. Heechul looked up at him from his desk, and smiled gently, a predatory glint in his eye. He got to his feet, and came slowly towards Leeteuk, not speaking until he stood in front of the hunter. They were the same height, but there was something about the way Heechul held himself that made Leeteuk feel about a foot shorter. “I didn’t think you would come.” He began to circle the hunter slowly, voice slow and steady, dripping venom. Leeteuk had come to the conclusion, about five seconds in, that this was what the mice had felt like when his cat had played with them before it had devoured the poor things. “I thought you were a coward.”

“You thought wrong.”

Heechul slapped him, and Leeteuk’s head whipped to the side. There had been very little strength behind the slap, but it was enough that Leeteuk knew it would bruise. “Don’t speak.” His voice was still quiet, but it had turned sharp, angry. He continued to circle, and Leeteuk remained still, half-tempted to pull his stake on Heechul. “You want to save the humans, yes?” Leeteuk opened his mouth to answer, but one look from Heechul stopped him. He settled for nodding his head. “And you’ll do whatever I ask, in order to protect them?”

Leeteuk nodded, and Heechul came to a halt in front of him. “If you can be good, Leeteuk, I’ll make sure they don’t get hurt.” Without waiting for a response, he walked away, sat down on a couch, gazing at Leeteuk. “Come sit.” Carefully, Leeteuk walked forward, and then hesitated, unsure of what – or rather, _where_ \- Heechul had meant. After a long moment of watching Leeteuk’s confusion, an amused smile on his face, Heechul patted his thigh. “Right here.” Hesitant to sit on Heechul’s lap – but more than willing to obey the vampire’s orders – Leeteuk came forward, lowered himself slowly onto Heechul’s thigh, face burning with shame.

Leeteuk almost fell off when someone knocked at the door. He looked back and forth quickly, between Heechul and the door, holding back a whine of embarrassment. “What is it, Donghae?”

A long hesitation. “Um. Sorry. But…”

“Get on with it.”

“Han Geng bit Siwon.” Heechul went still, hands curling into fists. “Siwon asked him to. He’s fine, they’re both fine, I just…thought you should know.” Heechul didn’t respond. “Okay. Bye.”

Leeteuk knew that Donghae had gone when he felt Heechul relax just slightly, fingers uncurling. “Mm, you’re welcome. I was going to have him come in.” Leeteuk’s mouth fell open. “But that _fear_ on your face was too good.” Leeteuk made a soft noise in his throat. “You see, don’t you, that I already hold power over you.” The hunter looked absolutely terrified at that revelation. “You just need to admit it.”

“Is that what you want from me?”

Heechul grabbed Leeteuk by his jaw, fingernails digging into his skin, drawing blood. “What did I say?” The words came out as a growl. “I said _don’t speak_. And when I tell you to do something – or in this case, _not_ do something – I expect that you listen, and obey. Or do you _want_ your humans hurt?” Leeteuk shook his head, as much as he was able to in Heechul’s grip. “Then you’re going to listen, and listen very carefully, to what I’m about to tell you.” Leeteuk tried to nod, as Heechul leaned forward, mouth brushing Leeteuk’s ear. “You’re going to get up, and you’re going to strip. And if you can do a good job, Leeteuk, then perhaps I’ll be nice to you later. If not, I won’t. You’ll find, little one, that I can be very, _very_ mean, if I want to be. I don’t think you want to experience that.” Leeteuk looked very worried. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. We both know how you paid your way through school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: CHAPTER 14 will be Leeteuk/Heechul...well, porn.


	14. bang bang bang ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING
> 
> This is porn.
> 
> I'm sorry.

Leeteuk blushed, and slowly got to his feet, circling around to stand behind the other couch, facing away from Heechul. He took a deep breath, fingers toying with the hem of his shirt, and then he turned to face the vampire. Slowly, he pulled the garment up, revealing his stomach, but not fulling ridding himself of the article, avoiding Heechul’s gaze completely. It had been a while, since he had done this, but almost 5 years of muscle memory were starting to kick in. Granted, his life had never been on the line before, and the people he had danced for back in high school and college hadn’t been vampires intent on proving their power. Or, well, he was pretty sure they hadn’t been. After a long moment, he flexed his muscles as he pulled his shirt completely off, and he could hear the breath that left Heechul’s lips from here.

He placed his hands on the back of the couch, pressing down enough to test how well it would hold his weight, before he bent his elbows, and pushed his body up, legs spreading into the splits as he sank down onto the back of the couch, gazing over Heechul’s head. Slowly, he brought one leg down to rest on the couch cushions, and then slowly, gracefully, lowered himself down completely, legs still spread. He arched off of the couch, thumbs in the waistband of his pants. He made the mistake of glancing at Heechul, the heated gaze in the vampire’s eyes throwing him off for a brief moment before he regained his composure, sliding his pants slowly down his legs, biting down on his lower lip, partly for show, and partly to keep himself steady, as he lowered himself to the floor, gazing up at Heechul.

The vampire smirked at him, raised hand to make a ‘come hither’ motion at Leeteuk, and after a moment, the hunter obeyed. He crawled across the floor, came to a halt about a foot in front of Heechul’s legs, eyes wide. “Oh, dear. I think somebody’s forgotten the terms of our little deal.” Leeteuk shook his head quickly. “I told you to come _here_.” His legs opened, and after a long moment of hesitation, Leeteuk moved to kneel in between them, every muscle in his body tight with tension.

Heechul’s hand tangled in Leeteuk’s hair, and he yanked the hunter’s head backwards. “That was pretty good, little one. But I still don’t know if you deserve anything _nice_ from me. After all, it is _your_ fault that I didn’t get Jiyong back.” Leeteuk let out a quiet whine, and Heechul raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?” Leeteuk opened his mouth, but didn’t speak. “You may answer.”

“I’m on my knees, naked, _for you_ and all you can think about is _Jiyong_?”

Heechul chuckled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were jealous.” Leeteuk shook his head quickly, disgust twisting his features. “No? Are you just playing? Filling the role I gave you?” Hesitation, and then a nod. Heechul smiled. “Well, then, you’d better be a damn good actor.” Without warning, he pulled Leeteuk forward, pressing the hunter’s face against his crotch, and Leeteuk whined. Heechul’s grip tightened, pulling a delicious little moan from Leeteuk’s throat. “Oh? You like when I pull on your hair?” He tugged, and Leeteuk moaned again, eyes wide as he gazed up at Heechul. The vampire’s other hand came down to stroke absently at Leeteuk’s cheek, finger sliding over the marks he had made on his jaw. “You see, little one, it doesn’t always have to hurt.”

Leeteuk made a noise of disagreement, but Heechul ignored him, in favor of reaching up to undo the buttons on his shirt. After he slid out of the material, he reached for his belt, unbuckling it, and pulling it quickly through the loops. “I have a task for you, little one.” Leeteuk raised an eyebrow. “I want you to undo my pants.” Leeteuk started to reach up, but Heechul stopped him with a look. “But I want you to use only your mouth.” As if to prove his point, he took both of Leeteuk’s wrist in one hand, and with the other, bound them together with his belt, yanking it just tight enough to be painful. Leeteuk whimpered, eyes filling with tears, and silent pleas. “If you aren’t going to obey, little one, you can leave.”

Leeteuk shook his head quickly, leaned forward, mouth finding the button of Heechul’s pants. He could do buttons, he had opened hundreds of them with his teeth before, but he again found himself struggling to fall back into an old habit. “Come on, Leeteuk. You can do better than that.” Leeteuk growled, hands clenching into fists, and Heechul smiled down at him. After about ten minutes of effort, he got it open, only to find that there was a second button. This one took about a quarter of the time, and within seconds, he had the zipper down as well, the taste of metal in his mouth. “Good.” Heechul released Leeteuk’s hair, and slid his pants down, onto the floor. “I think you can figure out the rest from here.”

Leeteuk whined quietly, but didn’t argue, as he leaned forward, gazing up at Heechul. “Anything in particular you’re _waiting_ for?” Leeteuk whined again, and Heechul smiled. “You want me to untie your hands?” A quick nod. “Well, that’s really unfortunate.” A disappointed noise from Leeteuk, before his mouth was on Heechul’s dick. “Ah, there you go” His fingers knotted in Leeteuk’s hair again, but he didn’t pull. Leeteuk was slow, hesitant, but persistent. “Come on, kitten, you’re better than this.”

Leeteuk growled quietly, allowed his teeth to drag over the bottom of Heechul’s cock, but the vampire only grinned down at him, a threatening glint in his eye. “Do that again, kitten, I dare you. See where it gets your pretty humans.” Leeteuk whined, eyes wide with fear, as he pushed further down, until he couldn’t _take_ anymore. Heechul smiled, put a hand on Leeteuk’s jaw. “Relax, little one.”

The hunter was hesitant to obey, but he did, jaw going pliant under Heechul’s grip, and the vampire snapped his hips up. Leeteuk choked, tried to pull away, but Heechul held him in place, a warning look in his eye. Leeteuk was close to tears, now, hands shaking again, and he couldn’t breathe, no matter how hard he tried. A soft whimper made its way out of his throat, and Heechul raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what’s that? You want…do you want to _breath_ , kitten?” Leeteuk whined out a soft response that sounded like a ‘ _please_ ’ and Heechul released him. He pulled back quickly, gasping for air, still whining quietly.

Heechul stroked a soothing hand down Leeteuk’s face. “You don’t like that?” A quick shake of Leeteuk’s head. “Alright, alright. No more.” He ran a hand through the hunter’s hair, and then motioned him up, into his lap. Leeteuk was slow to obey, but he didn’t hesitate as he crawled up into Heechul’s lap, straddling his waist. “Good.” Leeteuk whimpered quietly when Heechul’s hands slid under his jaw, holding him in place, gazes locked. “How shall I have you now?” Leeteuk whined softly, but didn’t speak. “Shall I fuck you?”

“If you’re feeling so inclined.”

Heechul growled, fingernails digging into Leeteuk’s skin once more. “I didn’t say you could speak.” Leeteuk whimpered, squirming in Heechul’s grip. “None of that. Shut your mouth.” Leeteuk obeyed, whining softly in his throat. “You should know, by now, that I do what I want, when I want, with who I want. So if I want to fuck you, I’m going to, regardless of your smartass comments, regardless of how you feel about it, regardless of whether or not you want to.”

Leeteuk was trembling, filled with fear as Heechul leaned forward, mouthed along his collarbone, before teeth sank into his shoulder, biting down hard and drawing blood, but there were no fangs. Leeteuk keened, high and long, straining against the belt that held him in place. When Heechul pulled back, there was a red smear on his lips, pale skin stained blood red as he gazed at Leeteuk. “I think I will fuck you, just for that particular comment.” He got to his feet, holding Leeteuk in place, and then dragged the hunter across the room, all but throwing him onto the bed. Heechul followed quickly, legs pinning Leeteuk’s hips to the bed, one hand on either side of his head, effectively trapping the hunter in place, caged him. Leeteuk fought down his panic, swallowed his terror – or, well, most of it – as he gazed up at Heechul. The vampire didn’t want to kill him. He wouldn’t. If he did…if he did, someone would tell Sehun, and Sehun would tell Zitao, and Zitao would tell the hunters.

“Will you be good?” Leeteuk whined softly, nodded quickly. “I don’t think I can trust you.” Heechul’s fingers curled into fists, and Leeteuk shied away from the tension radiating off of him. “Are you scared of me?” Leeteuk nodded. “Scared of the big, bad vampire? What would Luhan say?” Leeteuk whimpered, squeezed his eyes shut. “Look at me.” After a moment, Leeteuk opened his eyes. “You may speak.”

“Please don’t talk about Luhan right now. Or…or any of the other hunters. Please.”

Heechul cocked his head to the side in thought, and then grabbed Leeteuk’s forearms, shifting their positions rapidly. When they fell still, Leeteak was seated on Heechul’s lap, legs spread wide to accommodate the vampire, Heechul leaning back against the wall, hands on Leeteuk’s hips. “Put your hands behind your head.” Leeteuk lifted his hands, still bound by Heechul’s belt, and let them rest behind his head. Heechul’s hands slid down to cup Leeteuk’s ass, and the hunter let out a quiet noise.

“What are you going to do?”

Heechul smiled at him, eyes glinting dangerously. “Just take a wild guess.” Without any warning, Leeteuk felt one of Heechul’s fingers nudging into his hole, and he whined, leaning forward against Heechul. “Now, now. That’s just the first one.”

Heechul wasn’t gentle, he wasn’t _kind_ , he wasn’t doing this to please anyone but himself, and so Leeteuk wasn’t at all surprised when a second finger was added within seconds of the first. He whined, but didn’t outright complain, fingers clenching into fists. It burned, of course it did, but Leeteuk was a hunter; he had taken worse. Maybe not up his ass, but he had had worse pain inflicted on his body in the past. He could handle this.

He gasped when Heechul crooked his fingers, hitting some particularly sensitive spot inside of him. “Mm, see? It doesn’t always have to hurt.” Heechul smiled, but there was something so horrifically predatory in his gaze that Leeteuk wanted to hide. Seconds later, Heechul added a third finger, stretching and pulling. Leeteuk whimpered at the burn, squirming, but he didn’t get anywhere. Heechul’s free hand came up to cup his jaw, surprisingly gentle. “So, what I’m hearing you say, little one, is that you don’t want me to talk about anyone else while you’re here?” Leeteuk nodded quickly, eyebrows drawing together with confusion. “You want every thought that I have to be on you?” Another nod, this one slower. “You want my eyes, my mind, my _everything_ , focused on you?” This nod was the slowest of all. “So give me a reason to _watch you_ , kitten.”

It took Leeteuk only a few seconds to figure out what Heechul wanted. Slowly, shakily, he lowered himself back onto the vampire’s cock, a loud whine coming from his lips, the noise transforming into a groan when he felt Heechul’s cock his that spot inside of him. He was fighting against his bonds, now, and Heechul smiled at him, hands sliding down his chest, to hold his waist. “There you go. Come on, kitten, be a good boy.”

It burned, some part of Leeteuk’s brain recognized that, but the other part was practically flying. He was simultaneously unaware of anything around him, and hyperaware of everything that Heechul was doing. His hands, his words, his _cock_ …Leeteuk wanted to cry just as much as he wanted to scream. “Please, please, Heechul, please-”

“Use your words, kitten.”

“Please, untie me, please, I’ll be good-”

Heechul laughed quietly, grip tightening. “I don’t know if you’ve earned that.” At those words, Leeteuk clenched down on Heechul’s cock, and the vampire’s mouth fell open. His hands traveled up Leeteuk’s sides, over his arms, and gripped his wrists. “Do that again.” Leeteuk obliged, and Heechul moaned, seconds before he pulled the belt off, freeing Leeteuk’s hands. The hunter gripped Heechul’s shoulder, steadying himself as he began to move, any problems he might have had with this situation forgotten. “Mm, you’re so good. Such a good boy, kitten.” That particular bit of praise when straight to Leeteuk’s cock, and he whimpered, free hand moving to tangle in Heechul’s hair, mouth open, breathing hard and heavy and labored. “If you pull, I’ll hurt you.”

Leeteuk let out a quiet noise, as he continued moving, muscles flexing, trembling from exertion. “Why won’t you just _come_?”

Heechul laughed quietly, nuzzled against Leeteuk’s neck. “Breathe for me.” Leeteuk sucked in a breath, and then released it. As tension fled his muscles, Heechul bit down, fangs sliding into Leeteuk’s skin.

“H-Hee _chul_.” The second half of the vampire’s name was a mostly incoherent sob, and he smiled to himself as Leeteuk went still, body frozen in place as he came. Heechul pushed him down, onto his back, still feeding, fucking deep into the hunter. “Just fucking _come_.” After a moment, the vampire obliged, fangs releasing Leeteuk’s neck. He didn’t pull away, kept the hunter pinned in place, as he mouthed gently over the wound, and then kissed him on the jaw. Leeteuk had gone soft, pliant, gasping for air, and Heechul took advantage of that, nibbling along his lower lip before kissing the hunter gently, fingers stroking gently over his skin.

“Go to sleep, kitten. We can wait until you’ve rested to speak about our deal.”

Leeteuk would have worried about the fact that he was quite literally falling asleep underneath a vampire, if he hadn’t been dead tired, body aching. And he would have worried about Heechul’s choice of words, if he had cared.

The last thing he remembered before he fell asleep was Heechul pressing a kiss to his forehead, his hands clinging to the vampire’s arms, a desperate attempt to hold him in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*


	15. why so serious?

When Leeteuk woke, he was alone. Not that he was surprised; he hadn’t exactly been expecting Heechul to stay, despite his silent plea. No, the surprise came more in the fact that he was covered in a heap of blankets, face pressed against a pillow. He pushed himself up into a seated position, looking around the room, and found that Heechul had just stepped into the room, looking like he was going to murder someone. When his gaze found Leeteuk’s, the hunter whimpered quietly, throat dry, as Heechul came forward, stopped at the edge of the bed. “I’m not angry at you.”

Leeteuk made a soft noise in his throat. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” The answer was swift, immediate. “If you’re up for it, little one, we have something to discuss.” After a moment, Leeteuk nodded once, and threw the blankets off of himself, crawling towards Heechul. Every movement ached, and he was exhausted, but he didn’t say anything. But Heechul noticed anyway, and put out an arm, to help Leeteuk off of the bed. “You look like you’re going to pass out.” Leeteuk snorted, but didn’t speak. “Come on, little one.” His arm slid around Leeteuk’s waist, and he guided the hunter over to sit on the couch, taking a seat right beside him. “Your human… _friends_ are safe.” Leeteuk nodded once. “Seeing as you have fulfilled your end of the deal, you are free to leave.”

Leeteuk sensed that there was something Heechul wasn’t saying. “Or?”

The vampire sighed, pressed his lips together tightly, before he spoke. “Or you can stay. Not…not forever. But I quite enjoyed our time together, and I’d like to have another go at you.” It was then that Leeteuk realized that Heechul had a hand on his thigh, and that he was leaning heavily against the vampire, chin on his shoulder. “It’s your choice.”

“No.” The words tasted bitter in Leeteuk’s mouth. “I have to go home. The hunters need me.” Heechul nodded once. His face remained smooth, uninterested, but Leeteuk could see the brief flash of pain in his eyes. “If you’ll permit it, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Of course.” Heechul got to his feet, and within seconds, he had returned, Leeteuk’s clothes in his hands. “And, ah, I’ll find you a scarf.” Leeteuk didn’t ask why. When Heechul returned again, he had a scarf in his hand, and Leeteuk was clothed. He looped the scarf around Leeteuk’s neck, fingers gliding over his jaw, before he tied the scarf in place, taking a moment to adjust it before he stepped away.

“Thank you.”

Heechul nodded once. “I suppose I’ll see you around.” He paused, before he spoke again. “Tell Kangin that Kyuhyun is looking for him, would you?” Leeteuk nodded, and then turned away. When he reached the door, he turned to look at Heechul again. “By the way, Yifan’s sleeping with Joonmyun. So when he’s late coming in today, cut him some slack. You missed all of yesterday.”

A slow nod, and then Leeteuk was gone.

Heechul sank back down onto the couch, letting out a quiet sigh. Within seconds, Han Geng was there, Youngbae at one shoulder, Jongdae and Yixing at the other. Han Geng crawled into Heechul’s lap, mouth on his neck. “Oh, go on.” Han Geng bit down, drawing blood. Heechul looked at Jongdae, and then Yixing, before Han Geng pulled back. “What, Siwon wasn’t enough for you?”

Han Geng froze in place. “How-”

“Donghae. You forget, baby vampire, we can hear things.” Han Geng made a quiet noise, shrinking in Heechul’s grip. “You could have killed him.” Han Geng’s lower lip trembled. “My dear, darling child, I’m not angry. I’m disappointed. How do you think the hunters would have reacted if you had killed him?” Han Geng whined quietly. “I know. I know you didn’t.”

Jongdae spoke, then, voice soft. “Heechul, um…Seunghyun wanted me to give you this.” He reached out, a letter in his hand, and Heechul grabbed it, looking rather…well, pissed. “He said it was important.” Han Geng leaned forward, bit down on Heechul’s neck again as he opened the letter. “And…well, Donghae and Eunhyuk got…er, very drunk.”

“I’ll give him plenty of shit for you, Jongdae.”

Jongdae nodded, and then took Yixing’s hand, and led him out of the room. Youngbae gazed at Heechul for a long moment, before he spoke. “Kibum wants to speak to you. He says it’s important. Something about Jiyong, I’m not really sure.” Those words drew Heechul’s glare, and Youngbae shied away. “He told me to tell you.” Without another word, Youngbae scampered away.

Han Geng pulled back, far enough to look Heechul in the eyes. “You’re angry.” Heechul shrugged. “But he told me I could-”

“Humans tell us that all the time, Han Geng, and they still end up dead sometimes.”

“But he’s different!” Heechul rolled his eyes. “He’s a hunter. I didn’t hurt him.” Heechul sighed quietly. “Heechul, I’m not…I’m not out of control. I can handle it. I won’t hurt him.” A quiet noise of disbelief. “I’m not like Taemin. I can handle myself.” Han Geng whined out the last part, nuzzling against Heechul’s face. “Please trust me.”

Heechul released Han Geng, and he crawled off of Heechul’s lap, getting to his feet. “Don’t go see him. Don’t bite him, not until I decide that you have enough self-control.”

“But I _do_ , Heechul, I’ve already proven that-”

“No. All that you’ve proven to me is that you are reckless. And that is unacceptable.” Without another word to Han Geng, Heechul swept out of the room, leaving Han Geng alone.

The first person Heechul went to speak to was Minseok, who was in the middle of getting dressed. He smiled at Heechul when he entered the room, stopped what he was doing to hug his elder brother. “You reek of Han Geng and blood.” Han Geng made a thoughtful noise. “I’m assuming things went well with Leeteuk. I saw him leave this morning; he looked…thoroughly fucked.”

“Mm. Yes, it went alright. Not so much this morning, though.” Minseok hummed softly, pulled back to continue getting dressed. “He despises me. Or, well, what I am. What we are. I have a feeling that if I were human, he wouldn’t have left so quickly.” Minseok looked back at Heechul as he finished tying his tie. “Where are you off to?”

“That, my darling brother, is none of your business.” He stepped past Heechul, put a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck with your human.”


	16. it's you

When Yifan came to, he had a vampire pressed up against his side, one hand resting on his chest, soft breaths coming from his lips. The hunter smiled, and then looked around quickly. They were in a bedroom, the vampire’s bedroom. Yifan knew where his stake was; he knew it was too far away to be accessible if this vampire – Joonmyun, that was his name – decided to turn on him. So it would be better, he decided, if he _didn’t_ do anything to piss the vampire off. After all, if he wasn’t angry, he probably wouldn’t kill Yifan.

“Would you stop thinking? I’m trying to sleep.” Joonmyun mumbled the words out, pressing impossibly closer, practically _clinging_ to Yifan at this point. “I mean, you can leave, if you want, but I’m quite enjoying your body heat.”

“Sorry.”

“Shut up.” Yifan closed his mouth, as Joonmyun pressed a kiss to his shoulder, before pressing his face against warm skin. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, before Joonmyun pushed himself into a seated position. “You’re thinking too hard.” He crawled off of the bed, and then glanced back at Yifan. “Come here.” The hunter crawled after him. Joonmyun stopped him at the edge, hands on his shoulders. He pressed a kiss to Yifan’s forehead. “You smell really nice.” His fingers stroked gently over Yifan’s collarbone, and down onto his stomach. “I want to _feed_ , Yifan.” The last two words came out as a whine, soft and desperate, in Yifan’s ear. “I’ll be good, please, I won’t hurt you.”

Yifan grabbed Joonmyun by his wrists, held him still. “Shush.” Joonmyun whined again, that time louder. “I said shush.” The vampire closed his mouth, nuzzling against Yifan’s cheek. “Ah, silly.”

“You think you’re so big and bad, pretty hunter.” Yifan laughed. “Almost makes me want to slap you.” He giggled quietly as he mouthed along Yifan’s jaw, mouth finding his ear. Although I seem to remember you begging very prettily last night.”

Yifan smiled, nibbling gently on Joonmyun’s neck. “Mm, I could say the same about you.” Joonmyun flushed, pressed closer to Yifan. “Oh, and let’s not forget how much you had to beg before I even agreed to come here with you, alone.” Joonmyun whined quietly, sucking gently at the skin underneath Yifan’s ear. “Oh, darling.” Another quiet whine, as Joonmyun crawled into Yifan’s lap, lips moving in silent pleas. Yifan ran his hands down Joonmyun’s sides. “Shall I let you feed?” Joonmyun whimpered quietly. “Mm, you’re so pretty, darling. Alright. Go on.” He tipped his head back, and Joonmyun let out a soft noise. “Go ahead, little vampire.”

Joonmyun leaned forward, sniffing gently along the column of Yifan’s throat, before he bit down, fangs sliding through skin, pulling blood to the surface. Yifan hummed softly, still not releasing Joonmyun’s wrists. The vampire squirmed in his grip, but not hard enough to break free. He rolled his hips, and Yifan murmured quiet encouragement in Joonmyun’s ear.

Joonmyun jumped, almost falling off of Yifan’s lap, when someone knocked on the door. “Joonie?”

Joonmyun let out a quiet whine, as he released Yifan’s neck, but he didn’t speak. Yifan looked over his shoulder, grip tightening on Joonmyun. “Kyuhyun. What can we go for you?”

A long silence, and then Kyuhyun spoke, voice quiet. “Can I come in?”

“Give us a moment.” Yifan pushed Joonmyun off of his lap, and the vampire moved quickly, practically throwing clothes at Yifan. In less than a minute, both of them were clothed, and Yifan had pulled the door open. “Alright, what’s up?”

Kyuhyun was very blatantly trying not to stare at Yifan’s neck. “I…do you know where Kangin is?” Yifan shook his head, and Kyuhyun sighed quietly. “ _Joonmyun_ …” The vampire shook his head once. “And…” Kyuhyun looked over Yifan’s shoulder at Joonmyun. “Heechul hasn’t come out of his room yet. He’s been in there _forever_.”

“You know why he’s in there, right, Kyuhyun?” The vampire shook his head, as Joonmyun came to stand beside Yifan. “He’s with Leeteuk. They’re…negotiating, or something.” Those words seemed to surprise Yifan. “Don’t go in there, Heechul will tear your head off, and probably Leeteuk’s in the process. He won’t hurt your friend. If he does, I’ll hurt him back.”

Yifan sniffed, and looked back at Kyuhyun. “If you’re looking for Kangin, you might want to try some of the hunters who’ve actually been out and about in the past 24 hours.” Kyuhyun nodded slowly, and then turned away, leaving Yifan and Joonmyun alone.

“Come on, Yifan, let’s go back to bed.”

*

***

*

“You look horrible.”

Eunhyuk looked up at Seunghyun as he walked past, shot him a glare. “Fuck off.” Seunghyun laughed quietly, and dropped into the chair across from Eunhyuk. “Go _away_.”

“How’s the vampire? Is he as good as me?”

“ _What_?”

“In bed, genius.”

Eunhyuk sighed. “I’m not _sleeping_ with Donghae, idiot.” Seunghyun raised an eyebrow. “Is that all you can think about? Sex? That’s a little sad. I wonder how Jiyong puts up with you.” Seunghyun cackled. “I like Donghae, but he hasn’t proved himself worthy yet. Remember how long it took you?” Seunghyun shrugged, and then smiled at him. “Yes, I went over to their…house. And yes, we spent time together. And there might have been some alcohol involved, but I’m 100 percent sure that I didn’t sleep with him.”

“Pity. He looks like he’d be pretty good.”

“Oh my gods, Kangin, go away.” The other hunter came to a stop behind Seunghyun, two disposable coffee cups in his hands. “Why in the hell are you two so obsessed with my sex life? Aren’t we going to talk about Leeteuk and his neck, or Yifan and the fact that he was 4 hours late to work yesterday?” Seunghyun shrugged, and Eunhyuk sighed. “Fine. Fine. I’ll tell you when it happens. But you’re not allowed to ask questions, and you’re not allowed to spread rumors, or talk to me about it, ever again.” Without another word, he got to his feet, and brushed past them, grabbing one of the coffee’s from Kangin as he walked away.

“Hey! That was for- oh, nevermind.”

When Eunhyuk stopped walking, he found that he had reached Luhan’s office. He stepped inside, not bothering to knock. The hunter looked up at him, not surprised to find Eunhyuk standing there. “So, you and-”

“Shut up, Eunhyuk.” Luhan had flushed bright red. “Nothing is going to happen. Zitao and Sehun are stupid. Don’t listen to them.” Eunhyuk raised an eyebrow. “You actually believed them?”

“Everyone’s been talking about it.”

“Oh _gods_.” Luhan buried his head in his hands. “This is a disaster. My reputation…I’m _ruined_.”

“You’re not.”

“I _am_.” Luhan sobbed. “My career is over!”


	17. overdose

Seunghyun woke up when he heard Jiyong scream, the sound followed by a loud crash, and shouting. He shot to his feet, mind not registering the pain that shot through cramped muscles as he rose from his rather awkward position in the chair, hand flying to his waist and pulling his stake free. He didn’t hesitate, made his way quickly through the building, and to the front room, where he found several vampires gathered, three already dead on the ground, two fighting Yesung, three fighting Baekhyun, and one holding Jiyong to the wall. The vampire was squirming, hands on his captor’s chest, trying to force the larger vampire away from him, to no avail. Seunghyun knew it wouldn’t work; it had been too long since Jiyong had fed.

He moved quickly, not giving the other vampires a chance to realize that he was here. Baekhyun crumpled to the ground almost as soon as Seunghyun reached him, bleeding heavily, but before any of the vampires around him could do anything, Seunghyun had taken them down, one, two, three. By the time he reached Yesung, the hunter was only fighting one vampire, having lost his stake after burying it in the chest of the other. Within seconds, the other vampire was gone too, and Seunghyun was turning on the one holding Jiyong. “Let him go.” The vampire cackled, grip tightening on Jiyong. “I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you for touching him.” Another long, drawn out laugh, but before the vampire knew it, he had Seunghyun’s stake through his heart, a short scream leaving his lips before he fell silent.

Jiyong collapsed against Seunghyun, sobbing, arms wrapping tightly around the hunter’s neck. Seunghyun clung to Jiyong, murmuring quiet words in his ear, before he looked quickly over his shoulder at the other hunters. “Go home, both of you. We’ll be right there; tell Luhan what happened.” They both nodded, and then slipped out of the room. Seunghyun turned back to Jiyong, pressing his face against the vampire’s shoulder. “I’ll get word to Heechul. It won’t happen again, ever, I promise.” Jiyong was still crying, fingers fisting in the back of Seunghyun’s shirt. “Come on. We’re going back to the other hunters.” Jiyong shook his head quickly. “Shh, darling, they won’t hurt you, I promise. You’ll be safe. Sehun and Taemin and I will take care of you.”

“B-but-”

“We can’t stay here, Jiyong. This is the second time they’ve come after us, after _you_. It’s not safe anymore.” After a moment, Jiyong relaxed, went pliant, and Seunghyun led him out of the building, and into a car. “I’ll keep you safe.”

When they reached the building where the hunters were – well, most of them – Jiyong was half asleep, leaning heavily against Seunghyun. He nudged the vampire just enough awake that he could lead him inside, completely ignoring all of the other hunters, and into his office, shutting the door behind him. Carefully, he lowered Jiyong down into a chair, and pressed a kiss to his forehead, pulling a soft whine from the vampire’s lips. “Hush, darling.” He shrugged out of his coat, and wrapped it around Jiyong, before turning away from him, and walking towards the window. After a long period of silence, he raised his phone to his ear, fingertips twitching anxiously before Zitao picked up. “ _Seunghyun? It’s like…four AM, what do you want_?”

“We were attacked again. Baekhyun and Yesung have gone home, I’ve brought Jiyong to headquarters. He’s scared; it puts him on edge, being around this many hunters. Do you think…”

“ _Sehun, honey, d’you wanna spend the day with Jiyong tomorrow_?” Seunghyun pressed his lips together in a thin line, but didn’t speak. “ _Yeah, fine, okay. We’ll see you tomorrow, Seunghyun._ ”

“Thank you.” Zitao didn’t respond before he hung up. Seunghyun sighed quietly, before dialing another number quickly. This time, he went straight to voicemail. Right. So Minho was either ignoring him, or his phone was turned off. If he was with Taemin, it was probably the latter. “Minho, it’s your brother. Call me.” 

Siwon picked up almost immediately when Seunghyun called him. “ _Are you alright? Is Jiyong okay? I heard…Baekhyun told me what happened, I just got off the phone with him, I’m on my way to see you right now._ ”

“We’re alright, Siwon. I’ll…I’ll explain more later.”

“ _Alright. I’ll see you in a few._ ”

Seunghyun set the phone down on his desk, and then looked at Jiyong again. The vampire was asleep, which wasn’t much of a surprise. He got that way, when he was hungry. Seunghyun smiled, sat down at the desk. He had to tell Heechul, before someone else told Heechul. Before his ‘friends down South’ told Heechul.

He got about half way through the letter before Siwon stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He glanced at Jiyong, and then walked quickly to Seunghyun, eyebrows drawn together with worry. “Are you- Sorry, I shouldn’t ask that. You’re not fine, you’ve just been attacked, but you’re going to tell me that you’re fine, because you don’t want me to worry, and more importantly, you don’t want _him_ to worry.” Seunghyun opened his mouth to argue, and then decided against it, settling for a nod. “Gods, I’m telling Luhan-”

“No, you’re not.” It was Siwon’s turn to look ready to argue. “I’m telling Heechul. Better he hear it straight from me, that from someone who wasn’t even there.” Again, Siwon tried to argue, but Seunghyun cut him off. “He will deal with this. I trust him enough to know that he will do that.”

“Why?”

“He knows that Leeteuk will be furious if he doesn’t.” Siwon nodded. “And he doesn’t want Leeteuk to be angry with him. Regardless of Leeteuk’s feelings on vampires, Heechul knows that if he’s good enough, if he _proves_ himself, for lack of a better turn, Leeteuk will let him have another go.” Another nod. Seunghyun looked quickly at Jiyong. “Besides, they had a deal, and if Heechul doesn’t uphold his side, we have every right to kill him.”

Siwon nodded slowly. “But how-”

“Leeteuk told him to stop the vampire down South. If he doesn’t, if he knew about this, and didn’t try to stop it, simply sat back and let it happen, he has broken his side of the deal, and we can go to war.” Seunghyun got to his feet, walked towards Jiyong, and ran a hand through his hair. “I won’t let anyone hurt him. Ever.”

“You love him.”

“With everything I have. If anything happens to him…I don’t know how I’ll live.” Siwon nodded. “Is that how you are, with Han Geng?”

“Something like that. When he…before he was turned, I hated vampires. I thought they were all evil. I swore that if he was turned, I would kill him. But when…when I saw him, that day…I knew I wouldn’t be able to. Because regardless of what he is, he’s still my Han Geng. He’ll always be my Han Geng.” Seunghyun nodded slowly. “He bit me, the other day. I told him to.” Seunghyun raised an eyebrow. “Don’t look at me like that, I know that Jiyong feeds on you.”

***

“Chanyeol?”

“In here.”

Baekhyun walked into the kitchen, where he found Chanyeol sitting at the table, laptop in front of him. “Hey, baby.” Chanyeol looked up quickly, face breaking into a grin when he saw Baekhyun. He got to his feet quickly, wrapped his arms around Baekhyun. “Hey, hi.”

Chanyeol laughed quietly. “I missed you. Why…why are you home?”

Baekhyun pressed his lips together. “Seunghyun sent me home. There was an incident – don’t worry, I’m fine, we’re all fine – but he decided it wasn’t safe for us to stay there. He sent Yesung and me home.” Chanyeol hummed quietly, and kissed Baekhyun, pressed him back against the wall. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. It’s…it’s been almost six months, yeah?” Baekhyun nodded. “I think you owe me a couple of rounds in bed. Meaning like…a lot.”


	18. love song

When Leeteuk arrived at the vampires’ home, he was surprised to find Kyuhyun waiting for him. The vampire didn’t speak as he led Leeteuk through the building, and then left him outside of Heechul’s door, much like the last time Leeteuk had paid the King a visit. He let out a shaky breath, fingertips trembling. He had just raised his hand to knock, when the door opened, and he found himself face to face with Minseok. The vampire didn’t speak to him, as he stepped outside, closed the door behind him, not until the door had shut. “Welcome back.” He stepped away from Leeteuk. “Sehun and Zitao are trying to set me up with Luhan.” Leeteuk made a quiet noise. “Please don’t tease him. He’s embarrassed.”

“I’ll consider it.” Minseok nodded, and then turned, walked away, leaving Leeteuk alone at the door. After a long moment, he knocked.

“Come in.” The words were soft, but Leeteuk heard. He opened the door, stepped inside, and pressed the door shut behind him. “Ah, Leeteuk. Welcome back.” He didn’t move from where he was seated, a letter in his hand. That, for whatever reason, _infuriated_ Leeteuk to no end. He walked quickly across the room, and came to a stop in front of Heechul, arms crossed over his chest. After a moment, the vampire looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. “Is something on your mind-”

Before he could finish the question, Leeteuk cut him off, a quiet growl in his throat. “We had a _deal_ , Hakyeon! You said that if I slept with you, you’d make sure that your _stupid_ friend wouldn’t bother the humans. _Any_ of them, hunters included.”

“I did. And thus far, I’ve upheld my end-”

“Then why, you idiot vampire, were my _friends_ attacked? You realize, I hope, that Baekhyun and Yesung and Seunghyun, and _yes_ , Jiyong, were almost _killed_ by some of your friend’s vampires.” Leeteuk was practically vibrating with his rage, he could feel it bubbling under his skin, and now that he had started, he really couldn’t stop himself. “Do you _understand_ that we now have every reason to go to war, not only with them, but with _you_ , and that _Seunghyun_ is the one stopping Luhan from giving that order, for now, because he knows it would _hurt_ Jiyong and Taemin and Sehun and Han Geng and any of the other vampires that we even _kind of_ know because of their relationships with hunters? He has some reason, don’t ask me what, to believe that you weren’t the one behind it, but Heechul, he can’t prove it, and if it doesn’t stop _now_ , then he can’t do anything, and he’ll probably be executed for treason.”

With those words, Leeteuk broke down in tears. Within seconds, Heechul was on his feet, letter in his hand forgotten. He put a hand on Leeteuk’s shoulder, but the hunter knocked him aside, turned away. “Don’t _touch me_!” His voice was riddled with disgust, and it made Heechul recoil. “If you aren’t going to do anything about this, Heechul, then tell me that, so I can leave.” He looked back at the vampire, tears forgotten. “If you aren’t going to stop this, then tell me, so I can finally get rid of the stupid voice in my head that’s telling me that you aren’t so horrible.” Still nothing came from the vampire. “I came here because Seunghyun asked me to, because he got on his knees and _begged_ me to find proof that you didn’t okay this, that you didn’t sit by and let this happen, that this is in no way your fault, that you tried to stop it.” All he got was silence. “Tell me something, _anything_ , Heechul, don’t just stand there and stare at me.”

“Little one-”

“And don’t _call me that_! Don’t degrade me that way, you stupid bloodsucker.” He fell silent, breathing heavy, tears threatening to spill again. Heechul didn’t allow his face to change as those words were hurled at him, though the venom behind them stung. “Tell me that you didn’t just sit by and let this happen. Look me in the eyes, and tell me that, and I will stay.” Heechul simply gazed at him, the pain in his heart never once reaching his eyes. Leeteuk nodded once, inhaled quickly, harshly, trying to stop himself from crying. “I knew it.” He stepped back as Heechul moved towards him. “I knew it.” He laughed, but the sound was forced, half-choked by tears. “I knew you were just like them, just like the ones who killed my parents, you disgusting, bloodsucking _monster_.”

Heechul froze when he heard those words, as the disgust, fury, anger, pain, sank into him, settling on his skin, itching, burning, _hurting_. Leeteuk either didn’t see the pain in his eyes, or he ignored it. Heechul prayed, to himself, that it was the former, as the hunter left the room quickly, leaving Heechul alone.

Han Geng and Jongin found him there, hours later, still staring at the wall. With gentle hands, Han Geng pushed him down onto the couch, and then stepped away as Jongin sat down beside him. “Look at me.” After a moment, Heechul did. “Go to him. Prove to him that you aren’t like them, aren’t like those vampires who hurt him in the past. Minseok and Ryeowook will handle the hunters. Joonmyun and Jongdae have already volunteered to go down South and deal with those kids. You don’t need to worry about that, you don’t need to worry about the hunters, just talk to Leeteuk.” Heechul shook his head quickly, and Jongin reached past him, taking something from Han Geng. “Here’s his address. You won’t be able to go in, not until he invites you, but you need to talk to him. Please.”

Heechul gazed at Jongin for a long moment. “Fine. For you.” Jongin nodded once. “Take care of Han Geng.” Another nod. “Keep the hunters out. If they come here, don’t let them in.”

“Of course.”

Without another word, Heechul left quickly.

***

Yifan was almost certain that Luhan was going to have permanent wrinkles from how long his face had been twisted with worry, confusion, anger. They had been trying to make contact with Heechul for an hour, to no avail, and eventually, Luhan had given up. Now, it had fallen upon Yifan to get in contact with someone, anyone, who knew where the vampire was. Sehun didn’t know; he hadn’t seen the King for days, and he had vanished to spend time with Jiyong and Zitao as soon as he had arrived that morning. Siwon had reported that the house the vampires lived in was pretty much on lock-down, after his visit that morning. The only vampire who might have had an idea was Taemin, and no one knew where he and Minho were.

Luhan had called his seniors hunters into his office, and that was where they had been for the past hour. Eventually, Yifan had put his phone down, a silent declaration of defeat. Leeteuk had yet to show, but after what Seunghyun had told them, no one was surprised. Seungri had walked in about twenty minutes late, offering a breathless explanation that no one had understood, before he had slipped out again, following Luhan’s order to go find Taemin.

It took them longer than perhaps it should have to consider speaking to either of Heechul’s siblings.

These ones were his actual siblings, surprisingly enough. Not even Luhan really understood how they were still alive, given that Heechul was centuries old. All he knew was that the Lady – or, well, the woman who had been the Lady way back then – had done some magical shit on them, and they were still alive today.

Jonghyun and Jinki had reluctantly returned a few hours prior, heeding Seunghyun’s desperate plea. And Kibum…well, Kibum had been hesitant to speak about his brother, but eventually he had caved – meaning Luhan had promised to let him start dabbling in spellwork again. A dangerous move, but a necessary one, at least in Luhan’s mind.

They hadn’t been able to get much out of the two, mostly because neither of them had spoken to Heechul in about a hundred years, but Kibum had briefly let it slip that Heechul had several vampires that he trusted to run the vampire kingdom when he…wasn’t available. And after a few minutes of prying, he had finally let their names slip. Almost as soon as he had, he had fled the room.

It was with many assurances that this phone call didn’t mean anything that Luhan had called Minseok, face pink. Seunghyun had slipped out of the room, a quiet excuse about going to see Jiyong the only words he said. Yifan had turned away, picked up his own phone to call Joonmyun, giving Luhan a little more privacy than perhaps he was comfortable with.

“ _Luhan_?”

“I - _we_ \- the hunters need your help.”


	19. fantasy

When Joonmyun and Jongdae had arrived at this building, every memory from their creation came flooding back to them. Joonmyun had sensed it first, had recognized the feeling that had crept up their spines as they got closer, but he hadn’t fully understood, not until he had seen the castle right in front of him, taller than he remembered, darker, more menacing than it ever had been, back when he had been freshly turned.

It had hit Jongdae harder, because it was more recent for him, fresher in his memory. Not that Joonmyun had forgotten, or would ever forget what had happened here, but he knew that it would hurt Jongdae more. He didn’t look at his brother, didn’t touch him, partially for Jongdae’s benefit, but also because he didn’t want to _see_ what Jongdae was seeing, because he had witnessed it, back then, had watched what their maker did to pretty little things like Jongdae, and he never wanted to have to see anything like it again. Of course, the others had been pretty too, but Heechul had been the eldest, and Jongin was too much of a troublemaker, and their maker had liked them divided, so they could never rise against them, so he had claimed Jongdae as his favorite pretty little thing, and Heechul as his heir, and left the others to fend for themselves.

Joonmyun hated him, with a passion. He felt bad, for bringing Jongdae here, but the kid – gods, he wasn’t a kid – had volunteered, and Joonmyun could never deny him anything. But he wished he had brought Jongin with them, partially because a third would nice to have around, but also because Jongin wasn’t afraid to bite their maker, if he had to.

 _Dark shadows, gold lights, jewels glinting, eyes glistening, betrayal, fear, anger, hatred, lust, want, fury, so many emotions boiling under the skin, it made him nauseous, his stomach turning, and he wished he hadn’t fed that morning. Pale skin, fancy clothes, too fancy, for what they had done to get them. He could smell blood, it filled his nostrils, clogged his pores, he wanted to scream, but he couldn’t, wouldn’t. The pretty little humans, dazed, unaware of anything that happened around them, focused only on the one touching them, focused on that next fix, and_ oh _he knew the feeling, that was how he had gotten into this mess, wanting, needing that bite so bad, until it had consumed him, and now…now here he was. Trapped. Locked in expectation, fear, knowing what would happen if he messed up. He could hear them, his darling brothers, one playing piano, the other standing beside him, hand on his shoulder. The eldest, watching, listening, attention on all of the others at once. He could see, the youngest of them, perched on their maker’s lap, every inch of him screamed_ favorite _, to an outsider, he looked smug, relaxed, pleased, but his brothers, they knew, oh, they knew the truth. They knew what happened when the guests were gone, behind closed doors, locked tight so no one could see, but they could all hear it._

Joonmyun snapped himself quickly out of the memory, and looked at Jongdae quickly.

The younger simply gazed at him for a long time, before he stepped towards the castle, not looking back to see if Joonmyun followed. He did, of course he did, he couldn’t let his brother walk in there alone. He put a hand on Jongdae’s back, not touching his skin, kept himself blind to whatever Jongdae had seen in his head, not speaking as they walked towards the front doors.

They were greeted there by the same vampire who had greeted everyone, for years and years and years. He was surprised to see them, that was for sure, but he didn’t speak, as he led the pair down a long hallway. Joonmyun ran a hand through his hair, swallowing his nerves. They never served him well, not around his – their – maker. Not that it mattered, whether he showed them or not; the vampire who had turned him, raised him, would always be able to tell, because he _knew_ Joonmyun, perhaps better than Joonmyun knew himself. Jongdae was standing straight, tall, unmoving, all muscles tense, sharp lines. He was scared, so scared, but Joonmyun said nothing, simply allowed his hand to find his brother’s hip.

When they entered the throne room, Joonmyun had to fight down the urge to run. Beside him, he could feel Jongdae doing very much the same thing. They had known, of course they had known, what they were walking into; they knew they were stepping into one of their maker’s little parties, something so sacred to him, something that had scarred the both of them in the past, so badly. But they had to. Joonmyun had to do this.

Their maker let his surprise show on his face for a single second, before it vanished, face smoothing back into neutrality, something so familiar, and yet so, _so_ threatening. “My darling children.” That drew eyes, from many of the guests, and everyone fell silent, with one exception. The piano was still going, a song that Joonmyun had heard hundreds of times. He continued forward, Jongdae right at his side, before he came to a halt, 15 feet in front of the throne. “Welcome home.”

 _This was never our home, and you know it._ Joonmyun fought to keep his disgust from showing on his face, as he gazed at his maker. “It’s been a long time.” The remark was rhetorical, and his maker didn’t respond to it. “If you’d be so kind as to introduce us to…ah, your little ones.”

That particular phrase brought a smile to his maker’s lips. “Of course. I could never deny you anything.” _Lie_. “This is Jaehwan,” the vampire didn’t move, from where he stood beside the throne, “And Wonshik,” A playful smile, and a wave, from the one on the floor by their maker’s feet. “and Hongin,” A soft, shy smile, that reminded Joonmyun of Minseok. “at the piano is my darling Taekwoon,” The music still hadn’t stopped, and the vampire only very briefly glanced over his shoulder at Joonmyun and Jongdae. “And this,” he motioned towards the vampire in his lap. “Is my darling little Sanghyuk.” A quiet whine, from Sanghyuk, and he pressed closer to their maker. “Children – ah, younglings, sorry – these are Joonmyun and Jongdae. I’m sure you’ve heard of them.” Silence, nods from two of the vampires. “So, dear children, what can I do for you?”

o0o

They found themselves waiting in one of the sitting rooms, for their maker to pull himself away from the party, or dismiss all of his guests – Joonmyun assumed it was the latter. They had been waiting for what felt like an hour, before Jongdae had finally moved, to press himself against Joonmyun’s side, and touch his hand, gently, but it was enough for Joonmyun to see everything.

 _Shadows, dark colors, gold and jewels, flashing, throwing rainbows when the light hit properly. Silk, sliding off of pale skin, revealing a shoulder, a hint of thigh, before it was pushed back into place, light colors on lighter skin, dark hair, gold necklace, glinting under the light of hundreds of candles. Fingernails, biting into skin, a warning, as the silk falls again, and this time, it stays there, and he shivers, pressing closer to a warm body, grip tightening. Possessive. Possession. Belonging. Toy. Owned. Claimed. Trapped. Back arching, to others, a sign of obedience, show-off, but to him, an escape, a desperate attempt to have those fingernails_ off _. They vanish, fingertips brushing over skin, bringing goosebumps in their wake, a shudder runs through him, and he presses his face into a warm neck, inhaling deeply. He can smell it, thick, in the air, blood, they wear it like perfume, the vampires, as they parade their humans around, and he wants, craves,_ needs _, but a pinch on his inner thigh, hard enough to bruise, he can feel that, is enough to hold him back. He doesn’t pull away, keeps up with his show, good boy. Then those fingers are touching, and he has to bite back a whine, muffling his startled breath against a warm shoulder. He wants them gone, it’s wrong, so wrong, he doesn’t want this, he_ shouldn’t _want this, but he can’t help but rock forward, dragging his hips along his maker’s, lips forming a silent plea on his neck, before the hand is gone. That time he does whine, the sound muffled by skin, and it earns him back those fingernails, holding him still-_

Joonmyun opens his eyes as soon as his maker enters the room, alone, and faces them. He doesn’t speak for a long moment, as he assesses what exactly happened in his absence, before he steps forward, and sits down in a chair, his chair, eyes on them. “You may sit.” Only Joonmyun obeys, and their maker raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t look at Jongdae. “So, you’ve come home. It’s not permanent, obviously, so tell me, Joonmyun, what brings you here?”

He’s ignoring Jongdae, that much is obvious, and Joonmyun picks up on why very quickly. Now that he has Sanghyuk, Jongdae is nothing, he’s worth less than dirt, and so their maker has no reason to even look him in the eye. “Heechul is…upset.” Their maker simply raised an eyebrow. “With you.”

“Oh?” Joonmyun nodded slowly. Gods, this is awkward, so awkward. He was out of practice, with dealing with people like this. It had been years. “Why?”

Joonmyun swallowed. He hadn’t been pinned under his maker’s intense gaze in a long time. “There was an incident.” His maker raised an eyebrow. “In his, uh-”

“Territory, Joonmyun.”

“Yes. That.” Joonmyun cleared his throat. “Anyways, there’s…speculation that it was you, who, uh, ordered it.” His maker crossed his legs. “Vampires attacked some of the hunters who are …under his protection, if you will, and he knows – and I can confirm – that they’re vampires from your territory.”

“Your point?”

“He had a deal with a hunter and now, by not stopping this and knowing it, or something, rather, was going to happen, he’s broken his end, and we’re on the brink of war.” A heavy silence fell over the trio. Joonmyun shrank underneath the anger in his maker’s gaze, trying to melt back into the cushions. His maker growled, and got to his feet, walking away from them.

Jongdae spoke quietly, to their surprise. “Did you order it?”

Their maker went still, gaze finding Jongdae, and the vampire whimpered. Joonmyun was tempted to turn, but he didn’t. Their maker growled again, another whine from Jongdae. “Why would I ever order anyone to attack hunters on another vampire’s territory, much less my _child’s_ territory?”

A long moment, and then a crash. Joonmyun whirled around, to find that their maker had thrown Jongdae across the room, and he had hit the glass case with about a million dollars’ worth of china inside. Jongdae scrambled to his feet, but before he got there, their maker had backhanded him, and he had collapsed on the floor. Joonmyun was on his feet in seconds, standing between the pair, facing his maker. “So you didn’t. Did you know?”

His maker pressed his lips together. “I did. I knew that they were going into Heechul’s territory, but I didn’t know that they were planning to attack anyone.” He stepped backwards, away from Joonmyun. “I’ll take care-”

“Oh, don’t worry. The hunters have already taken care of it.”

There was something particularly nasty in Joonmyun’s voice that had his maker raising an eyebrow. “Your hunters-”

“ _Your vampires_ tried to kill Heechul’s hunters. They were perfectly justified in killing them.”

His maker growled quietly, but didn’t argue. “I’ll handle it. I’ll talk to Heechul. But you, Joonmyun, need to take that bitch, and get out of my home.”

“Fine.” Without another word, Joonmyun turned, and grabbed Jongdae by the hand, practically dragged the younger out of the castle.


	20. eternity

_There had been darkness, before he had woken, but he hadn’t screamed, had bit back any noise that might have passed his lips. He had asked for this, he had no reason to scream. When he woke, it had been dark, yes, but he had been able to pick up on light that hadn’t been there before, every detail sharp and defined, he could hear everything. He didn’t move, not until he heard the door open, and then he rolled onto his side, biting back a whine as he inhaled, and his throat burned. And then there were hands on his arms, a warm body pressing against his own, mouth covering his. “Oh, darling.”_

_A quiet whine left his lips, as he arched, trying to press closer. “Hurts.” A quiet hum, and then there were hands on his thighs. “Make it stop, it_ hurts _.”_

_“Shh, Heechul, I’ll take care of you.” A louder whine, as he was pulled into a seated position, and then his mouth was on the other’s neck. “Go on, pretty boy, bite me.” Heechul obeyed, fangs sinking through skin, pulling blood to the surface. “Ah, good boy. You’re so good, aren’t you, my pretty little Heechul.” Another whine, and then Heechul pulled backwards. He gazed at the vampire in front of him for a long time, before leaned forward, and pressed a kiss to his mouth, pushing him back onto the bed. “Mm, missed this.” Heechul rolled his hips. “Ah, good boy.” That phrase drew a whimper from Heechul’s lips. “You’re so beautiful.”_

_“I love you.”_

_“Mm, I love you too, princess.”_

o0o __

_When Ryeowook came to, he was in Heechul’s arms. He made a quiet noise in his throat, pressed closer, but within seconds he was yanked backwards, against someone’s back. He whimpered, squirmed, but the vampire – ah, he remembered now, what had happened – held him still. “Sh, little one, hush, I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help you, darling, just relax and let me help you.” Ryeowook sobbed quietly, still trying to break out of the vampire’s grip. “Heechul, come over here and help me.” Within seconds, Heechul’s hands were on Ryeowook’s arms, holding him in place, before pressing a kiss to his nose. Ryeowook went still, and then relaxed, as Heechul nuzzled against his cheek, murmuring soft praise under his breath. “There you go, little one, just relax.” The vampire pressed a kiss to Ryeowook’s shoulder. “Heechul, d’you want him to bite you, or me?”_

_“Not me.”_

_With gentle hands, Ryeowook was turned around, and he curled closer to the vampire holding him. “Go on, little one, let’s see you put those fangs to good use.”_

o0o __

_“Is he awake?”_

_“Even if he’s not, Ryeowook, he can hear you.”_

_A slapping sound, followed by a whine, and then Minseok opened his eyes. All of the others in the room fell silent as soon as he did that, and then were was a hand on his arm. “Ryeowook, go get Hakyeon.” A long silence. “_ Now _!” He snapped the word out, and Minseok flinched away, but before he got far, he was being pulled into a seated position. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”_

_“Who-”_

_“My name is Heechul. I’m a vampire. You were dying, and we turned you to save your life.” Minseok struggled against his grip, but eventually went still, leaning heavily against Heechul. “You need to feed, or you’re going to die.” There were gentle hands on his waist, and then another person had joined him, another pair of hands on his shoulders. “Princess, Ryeowook wants an apology.” Heechul shook his head quickly. “Go.”_

_Minseok was shifted over into the other person’s lap, and he heard Heechul leave. There were hands on his body, holding him in place. “Bite me.” He raised his hand, until his wrist was pressed against Minseok’s mouth. “Go on, darling. Feed.”_

o0o __

_“He’s pretty.” A long silence. “Stop laughing at me, Heechul. He’s pretty.” A quiet laugh, and then hands were creeping up Joonmyun’s legs. “I love his face.” Gentle fingers, on Joonmyun’s face, and then soft lips were pressed to his forehead. “Can he feed on me?”_

_“I think not.”_

_“But-”_

_“Minseok.” Another kiss was pressed to Joonmyun’s forehead. “You’re new to this, the smell of your blood may very well set you off.”_

_“Even if it’s my blood?”_

_The one sitting on Joonmyun pressed closer to him. “Yes, Minseok. I won’t put him at risk like that. You’re right, he’s pretty, I’d hate to lose him.”_

_“So why can I be in the room?”_

_“Because then we have two others in between you and him.” After a moment, Minseok crawled off of Joonmyun, and he was quickly replaced by another. “This is the first time I’ve allowed Heechul to feed a newborn, darling, so perhaps in a few years.”_

o0o __

_“Where did you find him?” A long silence. “And how do you know he’s yours?” Quiet words, that Jongdae couldn’t hear. “So he was an accident?” A hum of affirmation. “I was an accident, as a human, did you know that?” More quiet words. “He’s pretty.”_

_“You think they’re all pretty, Min.”_

_A quiet laugh, and then movement. Jongdae could hear them standing around him, could hear their quiet breathing. “Minseok, would you like to have your turn?” A long silence, and then one of them – Minseok? – had crawled up beside Jongdae, and had a hand on his face. Jongdae’s eyes fluttered open, and his gaze found the face of whoever was sitting beside him. “Ah, there he is.” The words came from behind Minseok, as he helped Jongdae into a seated position._

_“I like him.”_

_“Of course you do, Joonmyun.”_

_“But I want to_ fuck _him.”_

_Those words grabbed Jongdae’s attention, and he gazed at the speaker for a long moment, before Minseok turned his head so they could face each other again. “What’s your name?”_

_“Jongdae.”_

o0o __

_“He’s screamed the most.”_

_It sounded like an errant thought, but, based on how much quiet whispering followed, it seemed to be a valid discussion point. After a few minutes, one voice spoke, louder than the others. “Well, he was turned unwillingly. And he did fight it, right down to the end. Right down until he literally couldn’t make another sound.”_

_The realization of what exactly was happening hit Jongin like a punch to the gut. In the back of his mind – the rest of him was focused on the pain – he remembered, remembered exactly what had happened…tonight? Last night? That night? He had been out hunting, nothing unusual, when a group of vampires – too many for him to fight – had grabbed him. They had wanted to eat him, he remembered, but one of them had stopped the others. Words had been exchanged – something about turning – and he had protested, and then, when they had grabbed him, fought._

_“He’ll be our first hunter.”_

_That made Jongin panic. At some point, his screams transformed into whimpers, whines, sobs, and he rolled onto his side, curling to a ball, fingernails biting into his arms. He drew blood, and that seemed to cause a disruption, for the other vampires. Before he knew what was happening, there were hands on his arms, yanking them backwards, pinning him in place, legs trapping his hips against what he assumed was a mattress, one hand holding his wrists, the other pinning his shoulders down. He screamed, and the noise transitioned into a high pitched keening noise, which quickly became a sob. “Ryeowook, get Jongdae out of here.” A quiet word of affirmation. All Jongin heard was the door shutting, his focus almost entirely on the vampire sitting on him. “Alright, little hunter, I need you to relax.” Jongin growled, fighting against his grip, and with one particularly harsh movement, he managed to throw the vampire off of him. A loud crash followed, and then there was a hand in his hair, yanking him backwards. “Heechul, be careful.”_

_A snarl, right in Jongin’s ear, and he went still, paralyzed in his fear, as the other vampire came towards them. “We don’t want to hurt you, little hunter.”_

_“And I didn’t want_ this _, did I?” The hand in his hair tightened, but Jongin didn’t stop. “I never wanted this; I’m not a_ monster _, not like you.”_

_The vampire grabbed him by the jaw, yanked him closer, the movement pulling him out of the other one’s – Heechul’s – grip. He whined, and then tried to yank out of his captor’s grip, to no avail. “Calm down.” The words were soft, quiet, but so much harsher than Jongin could have expected, and he shrank back, trying to pull away for a completely different reason. “Heechul, leave us alone.” After a moment, Heechul left, pulling whoever else had been in the room with him. The vampire leaned forward, completely ignoring Jongin’s fear, and he mouthed along his jaw, onto his ear, and down, where he bit softly on the skin beneath Jongin’s ear. He fell still, went completely pliant in the vampire’s grip, hands coming up to cling to his shirt. “Hush, darling, I know. I know.”_

_“Do you?”_

_The words had probably originally intended to be an accusation, of sorts, but they held no heat now. Now, they came with tears and exhaustion. “Yes.”_

_“How? How could you possibly…”_

_“I can feel it.”_

_Jongin realized, then, that the vampire holding him was right, he could_ feel _something, emotions, underneath his companion’s skin. “Hurts.”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Help me.”_

_“Of course.” The vampire tipped his head back, and Jongin leaned forward, on complete instinct, fangs coming free, and he bit down. A quiet sigh left his companion’s lips, and Jongin bit harder, pulling more blood to the surface. “See, little hunter? We’ll get along just fine.”_


	21. love like oxygen

Heechul had been sitting outside of Leeteuk’s house for literally hours. It was cold outside, but that didn’t bother him. No, what bothered him was that he could hear Leeteuk inside, busy doing important things, _ignoring_ the vampire who had showed up at his front door, and gotten down on his knees to plead for, not even forgiveness, but for a chance to explain. He had paced for a while, and then given up, sank to the ground, leaning against the wall. “Lee _teuk_ , let me explain.”

He knew the hunter heard him, heard the way he paused in whatever he was doing, and then went right back to it. Heechul sighed heavily, and then jumped when his phone rang. He picked up before the first ring even finished. “What?”

“ _We just left the castle. Hakyeon didn’t order it, but he knew it was happening. Well, he knew they were going to your territory, but he didn’t know they were going to attack anyways. He’s going to call you. He’s angry._ ”

It took Heechul longer than it should have to realize what Joonmyun had said. “You went to the castle?”

A long silence. “ _Yes_.” Joonmyun could sense Heechul’s fury. “ _We dealt with the problem. Hakyeon would never hurt me-_ ”

“No, but he would hurt Jongdae.” An awkward silence followed, and it set a warning bell off in Heechul’s head. “Did something happen?” Another long silence. “Joonmyun, did he hurt Jongdae?”

“ _He might have thrown him into your china collection, which, yes, he still has._ ” Heechul growled. “ _And then tossed him across the room._ ”

“I’ll speak to him, and then I’ll call Jongdae.” Joonmyun hummed quietly. “But when I get home, I am going to have a word with you.” A quiet noise, a combination of fear and affirmation. “Now go home. Take care of Jongdae, you know how he gets.” When he hung up, he realized that Leeteuk was no longer in his house. While the vampire had been wrapped up in his conversation, the hunter had stepped out of the building, and was standing beside Heechul. He was shivering, cold, but Heechul was certain that if he even suggested that Leeteuk go inside or put on another layer, he’d kill him.

“You want to explain?” A quick nod from Heechul. “Come inside.” Clearly that counted as an invitation, because the magic holding him outside of the house was gone. Heechul got to his feet, followed Leeteuk inside the house, and into the living room. The hunter sat down in a chair, and Heechul sat across from him. “Explain.”

“It was my maker. Well, kind of. He knew that some of his vampires would be entering my territory, but he and I both believed that they were just passing through. We didn’t know they would attack Seunghyun or the other hunters, we didn’t think they were that stupid. Joonmyun and Jongdae went to find out what happened, they’ll be back soon, you can question them if you’d like.” Heechul paused, looked at Leeteuk, trying to get a feel for what he was thinking. “I’m so sorry that this happened, we’ll do everything we can to stop anything like it from happening ever again.”

Leeteuk nodded once as he gazed at Heechul, face blank. “Your maker is still alive.” A nod, from Heechul. “Tell me about him. About your family.”

Heechul opened his mouth to begin, and then paused. “It would be easier if I showed you. For both of us.” Leeteuk’s eyes narrowed, and then he hummed his assent, holding out one hand for Heechul to take. The vampire did, allowing his memories to sweep into Leeteuk’s mind.

_Heechul was the first, the eldest, the heir. He had been the favorite, before Jongdae had come along, all doll-faced and just their maker’s type. Not that Heechul minded; no, he was glad that the attention had been taken off of him, but he worried, gods, he worried for his brother. Of course there was still attention; he had responsibilities, not only to his brothers, as their teacher, but to his maker, as his student, protégé. Not that his maker believed he needed an heir; no, he simply wanted to show off his power, in yet another way, in the form of Heechul, narrow, muscled, lean, sharp, clothed in all black, warrior, eldest._

_He worried about all of them; each of his siblings, with perhaps only one exception. Ryeowook could take care of himself, and besides, their maker didn’t care to much for him. That surprised Heechul, because Ryeowook was pretty, but he wasn’t Jongdae, so perhaps it didn’t matter._

_It was his job to keep them in line; all of the children. His spot behind Ryeowook allowed him to see almost everything in the throne room; from Jongdae, perched on their maker’s lap; to Minseok, mingling with the guests; and Joonmyun, lurking in the shadows. With one look, he summoned Joonmyun over, put a hand on his elbow, and leaned in close, lips on his ear. “You’re doing a wonderful job of looking like you want to die, Joonmyun, but you’re already dead. So go find a pretty girl to talk to, and try and convince her to share her food with you.” Joonmyun looked sick at the thought. “You’re absolutely hopeless._ Go _, you fool.” Joonmyun stepped away, slipped out into the crowd, weaving through endless throngs of guests. Heechul’s thumb rubbed an encouraging circle on Ryeowook’s shoulder, and he straightened. Heechul heard his back crack, and smiled gently down at his brother. Ryeowook didn’t look up, didn’t look away from the piano in front of him, as he continued to play, continued to please._

_“Heechul, my dear, come here.” The words were soft, a whisper amongst the voices of the guests, but Heechul heard. He obeyed, moved quickly to his maker’s side. “Ah, darling, remind me that we need to take your brothers out for…dinner, tonight, alright?” Heechul nodded once. “Are you enjoying yourself?”_

_“You ask that question, as if you don’t know the answer.” Heechul’s answer was rehearsed, something he had said many times before, both to his maker, and to others. “They bore me. Always the same people, with the same problems, every time.” His maker hummed quietly in thought. “I want something_ new _, you know that.”_

_A quiet noise, from his maker’s throat. “I’ll find you something new.”_

Leeteuk yanked away, eyes wide with some combination of fear and disgust. “He…you…” He trailed off, swallowing his anger. “You loved him?”

“Once. A long time ago. When I was human.” This time, it was Heechul’s turn to hold out his hand. Leeteuk hesitated, looked very reluctant to do the same, but in the end, he did.

_He had always been pretty, to them, to everyone; pretty, perfect little Heechul, who could do no wrong. Never questioned anyone, never disobeyed his parents, never spoke badly about anyone. He had always been proper, the kind of child, teenager, adult, that others would point out to their kids, as the prime example for how they should act. He had never stepped out of line, never broken a rule, never done anything that might have done anything to change his white, pure, unmarred reputation._

_That was before_ they _had come into town, all dark eyes and deadly smirks, killing anyone who got in their way. Except Heechul. Even when he stared their leader down, standing in between him and the other humans, he wasn’t scared. That was why, he supposed, he had fallen for the vampire, pale skinned, dark eyed, soft words mixed with just the right amount of venom dripping from his lips, right into Heechul’s ears. It changed him._

_When he had asked the vampire to change him, the first time, it had been a plea, quiet and desperate. And the second time, he had tried to win a bet. The third, his ultimatum that had, in the end, failed, because Heechul was_ scared _. And the fourth time, on his birthday, the fourth time, which worked, and then he had woken up, throat burning, senses sharp._

“He was a good actor.” Leeteuk’s quiet words grabbed Heechul’s attention. “He wanted you as a plaything, at first, proof of his power. And then you gave him more power than he had anticipated. You gave him the power to decide whether or not you were happy. You let him _have_ you, all of you, and he didn’t give you a damn thing.”

Heechul pressed his lips together, looked away for a quick moment. “If he hadn’t turned me, I wouldn’t be here.”

Leeteuk didn’t respond to that, simply took Heechul’s hand again.

_Ryeowook was the first to join them; he made three. Minseok and Joonmyun made four and five, and then they had waited, for years and years and years, before the accident happened, and their maker created Jongdae, and then left him, and then found him again. And finally, Jongin, the hunter who hadn’t wanted anything to do with this life, the only one who had resisted, the only one who hadn’t wanted the bite. Ryeowook had loved Heechul, had begged him for it; Minseok had been dying, unable and unwilling to resist; Joonmyun had asked, rather out of the blue, when he had accidentally met Ryeowook and their maker at the bar; Jongdae had sought out a vampire to turn him, then almost gotten killed. When their maker found him, he was almost dead, and it was a last resort that their maker did what he did. When Jongdae hadn’t woken, their maker had walked away, leaving him for dead. Hours later, Heechul had found the kid, smelled their maker on him, and brought him home._

_Jongin…Jongin was different. He had been a hunter, a human that killed vampires, and he had wanted nothing to do with them. He had been caught, out on his own, and they had almost made him a meal, but then Heechul – it was always Heechul – proposed that they turn him, because he was hot. That idea Jongin hated, and he fought against it, fought against them, until he had blacked out from how much blood they had taken._

_They were a family, of sorts. It was only when it came to light that Heechul had brothers – real, biological, human brothers – that anything major had divided them. There was fear, in some of them, that he would go back to them, because they were his blood._

“Enough. I don’t want to see anymore.”


	22. in my dream

Kyungsoo was about done with the other hunters right now. He had walked away from their stupid meeting, walked away from discussions about stupid vampires, and their stupid hunter mates, and wandered out into the town. It was dark outside, but he was used to being out after dark. He had a stake at his waist, another hidden in his coat. But he wasn’t worried.

He stopped, when he heard quiet sobs, and even quieter words. They were vampires, he could sense that much, but despite that, he walked towards the source of the noise.

There were two of them, one shorter than the other, all cute and doll-like; the other tall, lean, handsome. Only one, the shorter of the pair, looked up when Kyungsoo approached, and his eyes softened when he saw the human. “Jongin-”

“Just… _go_ , Jongdae.” After a moment, Jongdae nodded. He got to his feet, and slipped away, leaving them alone. Jongin sat still, trying to stop his tears, for almost five minutes, before he acknowledged Kyungsoo’s presence. “What do you want?”

Kyungsoo didn’t answer for a long time, as he gazed at Jongin. After a moment, he walked closer, and sat down across from Jongin. “You’re crying.” Jongin shot him a withering look, a look that said _yeah, no shit_. “Why?”

“Because I’m _upset_.”

Kyungsoo forced himself not to flinch away, even though the venom stung. “I’m sorry.” Jongin scoffed, looked away. “You’re Heechul’s brother, aren’t you?” A strange look, and then a slow nod. “Do you ever smile?” Now Jongin just looked annoyed, as he tried to stare over Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “What makes you smile?” The vampire still didn’t respond. “ _Jongin_ …”

Now Jongin just looked pissed. “You’re so annoying, has anyone ever told you that.”

Kyungsoo didn’t respond. After a moment, he cocked his head to the side in thought, and, without Jongin realizing what he was doing, he crawled into his lap, smiling serenely at the vampire. Jongin froze, eyes narrow. “C’mon, Jongin, smile for me.” Jongin didn’t. “I’ll leave you alone if you smile.” Still nothing. Kyungsoo touched Jongin’s face, cautiously at first, and then, when he had determined that the vampire wouldn’t bite him, more bravely. He traced Jongin’s eyebrows, down his cheekbones, and the outline of his lips. Jongin didn’t move, still frozen in place, muscles tense, almost as if he was humoring Kyungsoo. “Smile, just once, and I’ll leave you alone, Jongin, _please_.” Jongin didn’t, and so, in response, Kyungsoo kissed him.

Jongin’s mouth fell open in a startled gasp, and Kyungsoo took advantage, slid his tongue past Jongin’s lips. His fingers were resting on his jaw, and one hand slid down to his collarbone, stroking gently. “Just smile.” Jongin growled, and Kyungsoo felt his fangs extend, but before he could do anything, Kyungsoo had grabbed his jaw, holding his mouth open. He spoke quietly, right into Jongin’s mouth. “Smile, pretty boy.” With great care, he dragged his tongue over one of Jongin’s fangs, a soft sting, before blood was drawn. Jongin stiffened, tried to swallow a whine, but was completely unsuccessful. “If you smile, I’ll let you taste.” Another whine, and Kyungsoo pulled back, just far enough to look Jongin in the eyes. He offered up a soft, shaky, hesitant smile, eyes glistening with his hunger. After a few seconds, Kyungsoo hummed in approval, leaned forward, and kissed Jongin again, their tongues meeting. Jongin made a quiet noise when he tasted Kyungsoo’s blood, but before he could do anything more, Kyungsoo had pulled away, and gotten to his feet. “Goodbye, Jongin.”

“Wait, wait, please, _Kyungsoo_ …” Kyungsoo paused, then, and spun around on his heel, facing the vampire, who looked like he had made an effort to get to his feet, but had only ended up halfway there, in a kneeling position. “Don’t go.”

Kyungsoo walked back to him, put a gentle hand on his cheek, and Jongin flinched. “Tell me something.” A quick nod. “Tell me why you were crying.”

Jongin bit his lip, swallowing a whimper. “I…it’s so stupid, I’m sorry-” Kyungsoo silenced him with a look. “When I was…human,” He paused, biting at his lip again. “I was a hunter.” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow. “I mean, granted, this was…a while ago. But regardless, I was, and one day, I was out hunting, and then…I was caught. By…by a group of vampires that wanted to…well, feed on me, and kill me, in the process.” He let out a shaky breath, avoiding Kyungsoo’s gaze. “One of them…he…he suggested that they turn me, instead, because apparently I was hot, or something.” Kyungsoo smiled, for a split second, before it vanished. “I fought them, but I was no match for…how many was it? Six. Six vampires.” There were tears in his eyes, again. “I cried, I screamed, I struggled, I bit, I scratched. I drew enough blood in my fight that one of them – the youngest, I believe – had to leave, had to be taken away by one of the others, but that didn’t help much.”

“They turned you.”

Jongin nodded. “I was the first, and the only, hunter in their little…family. I screamed the most, when I was turned, and I definitely gave my maker trouble, every second that I was in my right mind.” He paused, lower lip trembling. “I…”

Before he could say anything more, Kyungsoo had fallen to his knees, and pulled Jongin close. “Hush, now. You don’t have to say any more.” After a moment, Jongin burst into tears, sobbing into Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Shh, hush, darling, it’s alright, I’ve got you.” Jongin was quivering, and he pressed as close to Kyungsoo as he could. “Oh, darling.”

Jongin whined quietly. “But-”

“I don’t care.”

“But I-”

“No. I don’t care, darling. I don’t care about what happened in your past, Jongin.” Jongin let out a soft whimper, pressing his face into Kyungsoo’s neck. “Shush, little one, I’ll take care of you.” He slid his hands underneath Jongin’s elbows, and helped him to his feet. “Come on, let’s go, I’ll take care of you.” Without releasing Jongin’s arms, he led him down the street. “Do you have your phone on you?” Jongin nodded, and Kyungsoo let go of one arm, reaching down for Jongin’s pocket. He pulled out his phone, and dialed a quick number, raised it to his ear.

“ _Hello_?”

“Leeteuk, is Heechul with you? I need to speak with him.”

A quiet hum of affirmation, and then Heechul spoke, voice quiet. “ _Kyungsoo_.”

Jongin was trembling, Kyungsoo acknowledged that, but he tried to put it out of his mind as he spoke. “Jongin’s with me. He’s fine, he’s alive, I’m not going to hurt him, but Heechul, the next time I see you, we need to have a word.” Jongin shook his head, a soft whine coming from his throat. Without another word, Kyungsoo hung up, put the phone back in Jongin’s pocket. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Jongin, but I had to. I’m not stupid, I can figure out who you were talking about without you saying it.”

Jongin whined again, pressing closer, his face finding Kyungsoo’s neck, a shuddering breath leaving his lips. “I wanna feed.” Kyungsoo could sense that much, but he couldn’t feel Jongin’s fangs underneath his lips. “Kyungsoo, please.” Kyungsoo still didn’t respond, hands fisting in Jongin’s shirt. “ _Please_ , I want to, Kyungsoo-”

“Shush, darling, shush. Didn’t I say I’d take care of you? I will, Jongin, you have my word, and if you’re good, I’ll let you feed, but you need to relax.” Jongin was still shaking, clinging, one hand sliding underneath Kyungsoo’s shirt to touch his skin. “Come on, darling, follow me.” He pulled away from Jongin, took his hand, and led him through a door, and up a flight of stairs. They reached another door, and Kyungsoo opened the door quickly, leading Jongin inside. “Oh, darling, are you crying?” Jongin shook his head quickly, avoiding Kyungsoo’s gaze, but the hunter had a hand on his jaw in seconds. “Jongin, don’t cry.” He pressed a kiss to the vampire’s forehead, then led him deeper into the building. Carefully, he pushed Jongin down onto the couch, and crawled onto his lap, straddling his hips.

“Kyungsoo-”

Kyungsoo kissed him again, pulling Jongin’s shirt over his head. “Shh, pretty boy, I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll be a good little hunter, as long as you can be good for me.”

“I wanna-”

“I know, darling, I know.” Gently, slowly, Kyungsoo mouthed along Jongin’s jaw, and nipped at his earlobe. “Just breath for me, pretty boy.” Jongin let out a shaky breath, whining quietly in his throat. “Go on, little one. You can feed.”


	23. sing for you

Heechul got halfway to the door, before Leeteuk stopped him, a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t. Jongin’s going to be fine. Kyungsoo’s a good kid, he won’t hurt him.” Heechul didn’t look convinced. “I trust him. He won’t hurt Jongin, I promise.” A quiet sigh, from Heechul, and then his head dropped forward, to land on Leeteuk’s shoulder. “I know. I know you’re worried.”

“He’s my _brother_ , Leeteuk. He’s the youngest, I…I worry.”

“It’s okay. I understand. But he’s safe, he’ll be alright. Kyungsoo’ll take care of him, he won’t let anyone hurt him.”

Heechul nosed closer to Leeteuk’s neck, inhaling deeply. “Alright. Alright. I trust you.” His hands curled around Leeteuk’s waist, and he pulled him close. “I want you.” Leeteuk hummed quietly. “I want you so bad.”

“I know.” Leeteuk pulled away, hands on Heechul’s jaw. “But not today. Not now.” Heechul looked wounded. “Don’t. Heechul, you need to be with your family. Go home. Take care of Jongdae and Joonmyun, talk to your maker. You aren’t…you’re not okay right now.” After a moment, Heechul nodded, and stepped away from Leeteuk. “Go home.” A long silence, and then Heechul turned away, walking quickly to the front door. He paused there, looked back at Leeteuk. “I’ll come see you. Later.”

Heechul didn’t respond, before he walked out of the door.

He was at home within minutes, pushing the door open, and found himself face to face with Jongdae. The vampire whined, when he saw Heechul, and then, within about half a second, had thrown his arms around Heechul, pressed his face against his neck, choked whimpers coming from his throat. “Jongdae, Jongdae, breath, little one, it’s alright, you’re safe, I’m here.” Jongdae shook his head. “Just breath for me. Breath.” After a moment, Jongdae bit down on Heechul’s shoulder, drawing blood. Heechul stiffened, but didn’t say anything, simply let Jongdae feed for a few seconds, before he pulled off. “Where’s Ryeowook?”

“U-upstairs. With Minseok, and…well.” Heechul nodded once. “Please don’t get hurt.” A quick nod, from Heechul, and then he walked away, leaving Jongdae alone. When he reached his bedroom, he hesitated, and then stepped inside. This was nerve-wracking, incredibly so, and he could practically smell the tension surrounding the vampires in the room. They didn’t like each other, that much was obvious.

He had never seen a vampire look as relieved as Ryeowook did in this moment. “Jongdae’s downstairs. Take care of him.” Ryeowook nodded quickly, and left the room. Minseok had looked up, when Heechul had entered the room, from where he was standing across from the man sitting on the couch.

“Do you know-”

“He’s safe. He’s with Kyungsoo.” Minseok nodded once. “Would you go speak with Luhan, please? Make sure-” Minseok nodded, and then he was gone. Finally, Heechul looked at the final vampire in the room. “You could have just called.”

The vampire got to his feet, turned to look at Heechul. “All of your children reek of hunters. Is there something you need to tell me?” Heechul shook his head. “First your vampires are sleeping with humans, now you’re make deals with them? I raised you better. I _taught_ you better. You are a vampire, you are my child, and this kind of behavior is unacceptable.”

“They aren’t just sleeping with those humans, Hakyeon, they’re mated.” Hakyeon growled quietly. “And my deal with that hunter…gods, Hakyeon, it was a power play, just like you did to me, except he didn’t want to turn. He wanted _me_ , and I wanted him. I know what I’m doing, you don’t have to worry about me.” He went still when Hakyeon touched the back of his neck, gently, fingers stroking over the knob of his spine. “What?”

“I think, Heechul, that I do have to worry about you. It was more than just a power play, little one, whether or not you admit it.” He circled around to stand in front of Heechul, hand still on his neck. Heechul hated this; he had to look up at Hakyeon, and it felt horrifically demeaning. “I didn’t raise you to make deals with hunters. I raised you to kill them.” 

“Maybe I don’t _want_ to, Hakyeon!”

A long, tense silence followed. Hakyeon looked absolutely murderous. “Tell me, Heechul, that you haven’t gone _soft_.” Heechul looked away, and Hakyeon growled, grabbed Heechul’s jaw in his hand. “No child of mine goes soft on humans.” Heechul whined quietly. “Don’t ever speak to me again. Don’t ever come into my territory ever again. If you do, I’ll kill you myself.” Without another word, he walked away, leaving Heechul alone.

After about two hours, Joonmyun entered the room. “Heechul?”

“ _What_?”

“It’s…it’s the hunters.” Heechul got quickly to his feet, as a group of hunters stepped into the room, led by Yifan.

“Where is he?” Heechul raised an eyebrow. “Where’s _Leeteuk_? He didn’t come into work, he’s not at his home. So where is he, you stupid vampire?” A long silence. “Oh gods. Don’t tell me you don’t know. Don’t tell me that something’s happened to him.”

Heechul didn’t speak for a long time, looked away from the hunters. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Yifan growled, turned on his heel, and paced away. Seungri stepped forward, gazed at Heechul for a long moment. “Where’s Han Geng? And Siwon?” Heechul didn’t answer, and Joonmyun stepped forward, motioned for Seungri to follow him. The pair left the room, and after a moment, Yifan followed them. Heechul looked at the other two hunters, who hadn’t spoken.

One of them stepped forward. “Heechul, I’m so…I’m so sorry.” The vampire shook his head, looked away from them. “No, look at me, please.” Heechul hesitated, and then looked at the hunter. “Please don’t shut me out, not anymore.” He stepped closer, right in front of the vampire. “You’re my brother, please don’t be like this.”

“Kibum, don’t bother.”

“Jonghyun, he’s our brother, we can’t just abandon him, we can’t just leave him like this, his mate just got taken from him.”

“He isn’t my-”

“I think we all know he is, Heechul.” Kibum’s voice was soft, quiet, but so powerful that Heechul took a step backwards. “You love him. I could see it in your eyes when Yifan told you that he was missing.”

“Hakyeon.”

They both looked at Jonghyun quickly when he spoke. “What?”

“It was Hakyeon. He…he…he took Leeteuk.”


	24. blood

Minho practically ripped himself out of Taemin’s arms when he heard what Kibum had to say. He walked away from the vampire quickly, breathing hard. “Are you serious? Are you…Kibum, tell me you’re joking, please-” He broke off with a quiet noise, grip tightening on his phone. “No…no no no, Kibum, no, this can’t-” A quiet sob, from his throat. “Does Heech-” A long silence. “Okay, alright.” Another pause. Minho was shaking, his hand coming out to clench down on the table beside him, knuckles white. “Yes, I can. I can do that. I’ll…yes, I’ll tell the others. Seunghyun and I will take care of it, just…just take care of Heechul, please.” A quick pause, and then Minho hung up.

“What happened?”

He turned to look at Taemin, swallowing his tears. “It’s Leeteuk.” Taemin looked absolutely bewildered. “Heechul’s maker has…has taken Leeteuk. Kidnapped him, essentially.” Taemin’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” He walked quickly to the closet, grabbed his coat, and then left the room. Taemin followed quickly, hand finding Minho’s waist. “No, Taemin, stay here. Stay home.” Taemin opened his mouth to argue, but Minho cut him off. “I don’t want you to be around me when I’m like this. I don’t want you to get involved in this issue.”

“I’m going with you.” Minho growled. “No, Minho, I’m going with you. This entire plan focuses on getting Leeteuk back from Hakyeon, and that means a fight. You need all the help you can get.” Minho shook his head quickly, not looking at Taemin as he grabbed three stakes out of the drawer in Taemin’s kitchen. “You can’t stop me. I’m going to help my maker, and I’m going to do it even if you tell me not to.” Minho still hadn’t looked at him, and Taemin sighed. He grabbed Minho’s hands, and the hunter looked up at him, glaring. “Let me help you.” A quick shake of Minho’s head. “Fine. Then get out of my house, and don’t come back.” Without another word, Taemin spun on his heel, and walked out of the back door.

Minho rolled his eyes, and went the opposite way, pausing only to drop the spare key onto Taemin’s kitchen table. He walked out of the front door, and hurried quickly down the street.

When he arrived at the office building, Baekhyun was waiting for him outside. “Thank the gods. We need…Yifan and Seungri are both at Heechul’s, Jonghyun and Jinki are there are well, we need a leader.” He paused, took a deep breath. “No one’s seen Luhan in hours. He won’t pick up his phone. We’re worried. Very worried.” Minho sighed. “Seunghyun’s waiting for you upstairs. He’s been gathering everyone that we can, and we’re working with Joonmyun and Ryeowook to figure out what we’re doing and whether or not they’ll help. But without Luhan around, without a real leader, authority figure, whatever you want to say…they won’t _listen_ to Seunghyun, because of the Jiyong thing.”

Minho didn’t speak, as he pushed through the throngs of hunters in the hallways, and into his office, where Seunghyun was waiting. “Report.”

“We’re missing Jonghyun, Yifan, Seunghyun, Luhan, and Kangin. All of the hunters are very, very ready to go after Heechul’s maker, they’re just waiting for authorization from…anyone of authority.”

“You?”

“I’m not going.” Minho raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to Heechul’s. When Kangin gets here, he’ll go with me. I won’t authorize something that I won’t be a part of.” Minho nodded once. “You should know, Minho…I’ve contacted the Lady. She’s coming here.” A slow nod, from Minho. “I’ll stall for you, as long as I can. But she will want to see you.” Without another word, Seunghyun stepped out of the office, leaving Minho alone. After a moment, Minho followed. He raised his phone to his ear as he walked. “Chanyeol, gather the other hunters, please. I need to speak with them.” He hung up without waiting for a response.

By the time he reached the room where the others had gathered, they were all present, waiting expectantly for his arrival. When he entered the room, they all looked at him, hunter and vampire alike. He stepped up onto the raised platform, and stopped in between Baekhyun and Seunghyun. He looked at the other hunters for a long moment, went to speak, and then paused when his phone rang. He raised it to his ear. “ _Minho, it’s Joonmyun._ ” A pause. “ _It was my maker, he…he’s the one who kidnapped Leeteuk, and sent those vampires._ ” Minho didn’t speak. “ _I’ve sent everyone who’s willing to come to you, which is most of them. Siwon’s going as well._ ” 

“Thank you.” Joonmyun didn’t respond. “Take care of my hunters.”

“Take care of my family.”

“I will. You have my word.” After Joonmyun’s hum of affirmation, Minho hung up, and looked out at the other hunters. “As most of you know by now, I assume, one of our senior hunters, Leeteuk, has been taken by the vampire who turned Heechul, the King of the vampires in this particular territory. We, his family, will not allow it to remain this way. When this vampire took one of our own, he made a statement. He made it clear that he is more than willing to go to war with us, and with any vampires willing to stand with us, which, as I understand, is a lot.” Minho paused, looked at Seunghyun, who laid a hand on his elbow, and raised his phone so Minho could read it. It was a text, from a hunter who Minho was all too familiar with. His face twisted with disgust, but he quickly looked up at the other hunters.

There was a long silence, as they waited for him to speak again. “As you know, when Han Geng was kidnapped by the vampires, we did nothing, per our orders. Unfortunately, our leadership – and by that I mean the Lady herself – does not want us to go after Leeteuk.” That caused a little bit of an outraged uproar in the audience. When they fell silent, they looked up at Minho again. “You’re seeking authorization for our attack on this vampire. You all know that the Lady won’t give it to you.” A long silence. “I’m giving it to you.”

No one spoke, waiting for Minho to continue. “So here’s what’s going to happen. Baekhyun, Zitao, Seunghyun, and I will lead squads. Seunghyun is taking Kangin, and anyone else who doesn’t want to fight. He’ll wait in the garage for anyone who wants to go with him.” A long silence, as Seunghyun left the platform. “The rest of you, meet us in the armory. We’ll split up into groups there.”

***

“When was the last time someone kissed you?”

Luhan froze, pulled backwards. “What?”

Minseok smiled at him. “I said,” He paused, stood up, and walked over to sit beside Luhan. “when was the last time someone kissed you?” Luhan’s eyebrows drew together in confusion, and apparently something on his face answered Minseok’s question. “Ah.” Luhan looked away quickly, but before he could get very far, Minseok was sitting in his lap, kissing him. The hunter stiffened, quivering underneath Minseok. When the vampire pulled back, he smiled down at the hunter, who simply stared at him. “Your phone is buzzing.” Within seconds, he had vanished and was back, handing Luhan’s phone to him.

“Yifan?”

“ _We need you at headquarters now. Well, we needed you here an hour ago._.” Luhan opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off. “ _The Lady is coming, we’re directly violating her orders, we need you here to stall, Leeteuk has been kidnapped, we’re going after him, the vampires are helping, she told us not to help, please, Luhan, we need you._ ”

Luhan muttered a quick affirmation, and then hung up. He pushed Minseok away from him. “I have to leave.” He got all the way to the front door, before Minseok had a hand on the small of his back. “Don’t touch me.”

Minseok pulled his hand back. “I apologize.” Luhan’s jaw clenched. “But I’m not letting you go in there alone.” Luhan looked ready to protest, but Minseok spoke before he could. “If we need to buy time for your friends, your family, my family, then we can do that. I’m a vampire, you know, I’m quite good at things like that. I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Luhan paused. “Thank you.”

“And I can get you home a lot faster than you can.”


	25. my lady

“Is he crying?”

The voice was quiet, but it snagged Leeteuk’s attention anyways. He was cold, that much he could process, icy floor pressing against his skin. He heard someone walking, followed by the shuffling of clothes. “No.”

A quiet hum. “I want him to cry.” A quiet laugh, and then Leeteuk heard the footsteps come closer to him. “C’mon, can I make him cry? I wanna see his tears, Hakyeon, please.” Quiet words, that Leeteuk couldn’t quite catch. “But-”

“I said no.” Leeteuk bit back a quiet noise. “I promised Taekwoon and Jaehwan that they could try first.”

“But _Hakyeon_ -”

“Sanghyuk, if you don’t shut up, I will make _you_ cry.” A soft whine, and then there was a hand in Leeteuk’s hair, pulling him backwards. “Oh, good, you’re awake. We need to have a word.” He dragged Leeteuk across the room, and deposited him on what Leeteuk was pretty sure was a couch. He looked up at the vampire, as he sat down slowly, across from Leeteuk. “Mm, I’m still trying to decide what Heechul sees in you. My only conclusion is…well, you’re either very brave, or very stupid. I’m guessing that my child mistakes your stupidity for bravery.”

Leeteuk’s jaw clenched, and he didn’t respond. “I see. You’re going to be stubborn.” He crossed one leg over the other. “As you heard, my younglings are very excited to see if they can make you cry. So, little hunter, if you want to avoid that – and if I were you, I would want to, they take after me – I’d recommend you answer my questions.”

Leeteuk straightened, swallowing a quiet noise as the movement sent pain shooting down his spine. He looked the vampire dead in the eye, before he spoke. “That depends, you stupid sucker, on what you’re going to ask me.”

The vampire raised an eyebrow. “You’re adorable.” Leeteuk looked ready to protest. “You think you’re a big, strong hunter, you think you can take out any vampire that gets in your way. Cute.” After a long silence, he smiled at Leeteuk. “Do you love him?” Leeteuk didn’t answer. “My child, Heechul. Do you love him, little hunter?” Still no response, from Leeteuk. “You do. Otherwise you would have told me otherwise.”

“Maybe I don’t feel like disclosing the details of my personal life with you.” The vampire raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Yes, I love him. I don’t think he returns the sentiment.” No response. “When we made our…deal, he made it very clear - _we_ made it very clear – that it was only happening as proof of his power over the hunters. He enforced that throughout the entire…evening.”

“And yet you still fell in love with him?”

“I said that I love him, not that I’m in love with him.” Leeteuk snapped, hand clenching into a fist. “I’ve encountered a lot of vampires in my life, in my career, and none of them have been the way Heechul is. He’s ruthless, yes, but in his ruthlessness, he reveals his passion. He’s angry, but his anger proves that he cares. He’s a vampire, but he has more emotion inside of him than a lot of the hunters that I know. And he’s _your_ protégé, but I still find him to be one of the most tolerable – not necessarily nice, but _tolerable_ \- vampires I’ve ever met.”

“You think highly of him.”

“Of course I do. You destroyed him, you tore him apart, made him a _monster_ , and yet he still found it in him to become semi-decent. He loves his family, his brothers, his children, and he’d do anything to protect them. I respect that, because I’m the exact same way. I have a feeling that you’re the type of vampire to abandon his children, just like the Lady would.” Leeteuk fell silent, breathing heavily, as he glared at the vampire in front of him. “After all, when Heechul left, you didn’t ever go after him. You didn’t care. You do an awfully good job of pretending to give a shit, but you and I both know that it’s a lie.”

Leeteuk had chosen his words carefully, and he knew the reaction they would cause, so when Sanghyuk – the littlest, he had understood that much from what Yifan had said Joonmyun had told him – lunged at him, he had his stake – hidden in his shirt, a brilliant precaution on his part – buried in the vampire’s heart. The vampire in front of him didn’t so much as blink when his child fell to the floor, choking on his own blood, life fading fast from his eyes.

Within seconds, a pair of vampires had ripping the stake from his hand, and was holding him in place. Leeteuk didn’t fight, even when he felt their grips turn bruising, even when the vampire stood up and came close. “What are you going to do, you stupid bloodsucker? Are you going to kill me? Hurt me? Turn me? Go for it. I won’t be your bitch, not ever.” The vampire put a hand on Leeteuk’s jaw, and the hunter growled. “Heechul showed me everything. He showed me what you were like, back then, and he showed me what you did to your children. To him.”

“You think you’re brave.”

“No. I know I’m not. You know it. We can both feel my heart pounding. But you said yourself, that Heechul mistakes my stupidity for bravery. You said yourself that I’m either very brave, or very stupid, and I’m telling you, right now, you stupid vampire, that I’m very, very stupid, but you are never going to change that about me. I know it’s suicide, saying the things that I’m saying to you, but I also know that I don’t give a shit. So if you kill me, you can rest assured knowing that the hunters, and the vampires that support them, will be coming after you, and you will end up dead.”

***

Jongin and Kyungsoo had met up with Minho and his party of hunters and vampires as soon as they had heard the news. Jongin hadn’t left Kyungsoo’s side, hand always possessively on his waist, or his elbow, clinging to whatever part of the hunter he could reach. Minho had noticed, had shot Jongin a strange look, but hadn’t asked, hadn’t questioned, even when Kyungsoo’s hand had curled in the fabric of Jongin’s shirt.

Minho hadn’t known where the castle was, so Joonmyun had led the way, Heechul and Ryeowook leading Zitao and Baekhyun’s parties respectively. Now they were waiting outside, hidden, unseen, unheard, waiting for the party inside to die down.

They remained that way for well over three hours, watching vampires trickle out, one by one, until Joonmyun confirmed with his brothers that most of the guests had left, and they could move. They did, slowly, gracefully, sticking to the shadows, until they reached the front doors. Joonmyun pushed the door open, and they stepped inside, completely ignoring the looks of shock from whichever guests still remained.

Zitao and Baekhyun were taking back entrances – Joonmyun had drawn out a rough, but detailed, map of the castle, and had directed Zitao through the kitchens, Baekhyun through the gardens. They would wait, taking out any vampires that came into their paths, for Joonmyun or Minho to make contact, and then they would come out.

Joonmyun had warned them that they might see things that they weren’t particularly ready to see, but Minho was trying not to think about what that might mean. He knew Taemin was here, could practically feel him, but he hadn’t seen the vampire yet, and so he didn’t worry.

Heechul had come with a warning as well – the vampires who lived here were ferocious, ruthless, and they would do whatever Hakyeon – that was the maker’s name – said, without hesitation, without concern for their own well-being. Such was their training, which had only intensified after Heechul and his brothers had left.

Minho had received word from Luhan, who had told him that he and Minseok were both at the hunter’s office, waiting for the Lady to arrive. They would hold her off, as long as they could, and then direct her to the vampire home, rather than towards the castle.

Minho prayed it would give them enough time.


	26. chained up

_“Kai, you’ll be patrolling the western sector tonight.” He turned towards the speaker, raised an eyebrow. “Minzy is concerned that there’ll be an attack tonight. Based on the patterns we’ve been able to pick out, they need to feed, either tonight, or tomorrow.” A slow nod. “And she wants us all to double up on stakes.” Without waiting for an affirmation, she pulled a stake from its sheath, and handed it to him. “Be careful.”_

_“I always am.”_

_She laughed. “You’re not, Kai. That’s why I – we – worry. You’re reckless, you know that. Sometimes I wonder whether or not your brain functions properly. There’s…rumors, you know, that you aren’t afraid to die.”_

_“It’s not that I’m not afraid, Krystal. I’m resigned to the fact that I will die, eventually, and I know that it’s not going to be when I’m old, given our line of work. So if a vampire kills me, I’m going to fight, but I’m not going to plead for my life.” He stepped backwards, hand finding the doorknob. “Be careful. Take care of the kids.”_

_“Of course.” He opened the door, and stepped out, but before he could close it, she stopped him. “Kai?” A raised eyebrow. “I love you.”_

_“And I love you.”_

 _***_

 _He was cold._

_It was the middle of winter, and they had sent him out on patrol, because the vampires had gotten awfully agitated lately, had been killing humans left and right, and that just wouldn’t do, they had to stop it, and of course, he got stuck patrolling the sector in the middle of the night in the dead of winter. Naturally._

_Minzy had insisted that he was the best hunter they could possibly have out there, but he knew that he was the one being sent because he wouldn’t complain, he wouldn’t go to Chaerin and tell her about it, wouldn’t bring the Lady into all of their problems, wouldn’t have her come down here and get involved, gods, they couldn’t have that, couldn’t possibly ask for_ help _, could they?_

_His fingers found his stake, not because there were vampires around – none that he could feel, anyways – but because it was a comfort, to be able to feel that, to be able to have that familiarity under his fingertips. That stake was special, it had been a gift, from his father, from his father’s father. The same stake they had used, back when they were hunters. His family had all been hunters, that was how he had ended up in this particular career. Of course he had chosen this, he could have backed out, but he hadn’t, because he didn’t want to disappoint, didn’t want to be the son that his brother had been._

_But it was cold, and he really didn’t want to be out here. His hand left the stake at his waist, found its way into his pocket, clenched in a fist. He wasn’t sure when it had started snowing, but it had happened, and now he could barely see, because there was snow blowing right into his eyes. He was half-tempted to just leave, go home, but he knew none of the other hunters would have any respect for that course of action, and so he didn’t. Wouldn’t. He had a job to do, and he was going to do it._

_He froze when he felt the first vampire, the arrival of the…the_ thing _sending a tingle up his spine. Oh. That wasn’t good. Within five seconds, three more had joined the first, and his hand found his stake again, body hot with anticipation. They were watching him, unmoving, as he stood still, breath forming white clouds in the air._

_No one moved, for a long time, before one of the vampires did, stepped forward, and spoke, voice quiet. “What are you doing out so late, little hunter?” No response, a clenched jaw. “Come on, sweetheart, you can tell me. I won’t hurt you. Just tell me.” He shook his head, once. “Aww, you’re no fun.”_

_“Hakyeon, stop_ talking _, I just wanna_ feed _.”_

_He stiffened. Not that he hadn’t known it was coming, but did they really have to put it off this long? “Jongdae, that’s enough.” The first vampire – Hakyeon? – was quieter than the other, his voice soft and gentle, but still so,_ so _predatory. “Heechul, is there something you want to say?”_

_Another voice, this one just as gentle, but it held no heat. “He’s pretty.” A long silence, and he was trembling now. He didn’t like that implication, he didn’t like it at all. “Hakyeon, I-” The vampire cut off, came forward. He was close, too close. “I want him.”_

_“_ No _.” They all started when he spoke, voice shaking with the cold, but hot with anger. He spun on his heel, glaring at them. “If you’re going to eat me, then eat me, but-”_

_The first vampire spoke quietly, cutting him off. “He’s adorable.” And then there were hands on him, two on his waist, the first vampire right in front of him, breath hot, body hotter, pressing right into his bubble, and he fought, oh gods, he fought, growling and hissing, biting and scratching at anything he could reach. When a third vampire tried to touch him, he grabbed its neck, fingernails digging into skin, drawing blood, and he scratched, more blood, and one of the vampires whimpered. “Ryeowook.” Another vampire joined them. “Get Jongdae out of here.” Some of the pressure on the hunter’s mind let up, but it didn’t do anything to help clear his mind. “Now, little hunter, calm down.” He snarled, tried to lunge forward, but there were hands on his arms, yanking him backwards. “Minseok.”_

_Yet another vampire joined him, and the hunter only fought harder, kicking, shrieking, biting down on a vampire’s hand when it tried to grab his jaw. “Let me_ go _.”_

_He didn’t get a response, before there were fangs, he saw the light flashing off of them, and then pain. He struggled, squirmed, screamed, fighting with everything inside of him, but they were strong, too strong, and in the end, the world faded to black._

 _***_

 _“Little one, it’s breakfast time.”_

_“Go away.” Hakyeon ignored him, put a hand on the back of Jongin’s neck. “Leave me_ alone _.”_

_“Look at me.” Jongin shook his head, looked even further away from Hakyeon. “If you don’t feed, little one, you’ll die.” Jongin laughed quietly. “You’re not afraid of dying, are you?”_

_“No.” Hakyeon crawled closer to Jongin. “I resigned myself to death a long time ago, Hakyeon, back when I was a hunter. I knew a vampire would kill me.” Hakyeon’s fingers massaged into the muscles around Jongin’s spine. “I thought it would be you, or one of the others. I didn’t know that it would have to be my choice to die.” Slowly, as if not to scare Jongin, Hakyeon moved, to sit in front of him. “I didn’t realize that it would have to be my decision to go completely mad before I finally died.”_

_Jongin turned, and caught Hakyeon’s eye, and only then did he realize his mistake. Before he could turn away again, Hakyeon grabbed his jaw, spoke quietly. “Feed.” And Jongin wanted to say no, gods, he wished he could have, but his body was acting completely separately from his brain, and he moved forward, fingers tangling in Hakyeon’s shirt, mouth finding his neck. “There you go, little one. Feed.” Jongin bit down, and Hakyeon sighed quietly. “Once you let go, you’re so good for me, little one. But it always takes so long for you to get there. You’re always so, so stubborn, you silly little vampire.”_


	27. in my arms

“Oh, now, I know for a fact that only two of you were invited here.” When Minho looked up, he spotted a vampire, but the look on Joonmyun’s face told him that this wasn’t the vampire they were looking for. “Joonmyun, Jongin, do I really want to know why you’ve brought these pretty little hunters along with you?”

Joonmyun stepped forward, a warning hand on Jongin’s forearm. “Taekwoon, is it?” A nod, from the vampire. “Where’s Hakyeon?” Taekwoon shrugged, and Joonmyun’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me where he is, you stupid-”

Jongin grabbed Joonmyun by the back of his shirt, and pulled him backwards. He looked up at Taekwoon, face blank, but Kyungsoo could feel the fury bleeding off of him. Taekwoon smirked down at him, and Jongin, after a moment, smiled. “Taekwoon…” The tone of his voice seemed to snag Taekwoon’s attention and he raised an eyebrow. “You have a mate here, yes?” A slow nod. “How would you feel if someone kidnapped your mate?”

“I imagine I’d be quite furious.”

Jongin nodded slowly. “So if I were to tell you that Hakyeon has taken Heechul’s mate…?” Taekwoon went still. “So tell me, little one, where Hakyeon is, and you won’t have to worry about your mate.”

“Are you threatening-”

“Oh, yes, princess, I am. So if you don’t want him to get hurt, little one, you’d best tell me where I can find Hakyeon, am I clear?” Taekwoon nodded slowly, lower lip trembling. “So where is he?”

“Upstairs. Private sitting room. I…Jaehwan and Hongbin are up there.” That didn’t mean anything to Jongin, but Joonmyun hummed softly in affirmation, and then put a hand on Jongin’s waist, pulling him backwards. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“Your mate, or your maker?” Taekwoon didn’t answer, but the look in his eyes was answer enough. “Is it Jaehwan?” A slow nod. “I’ll make sure he gets back to you safely.” Taekwoon let out a quiet noise. “Minho, Jongin, come with me.” Minho followed without a word, while Jongin took a moment to share a look with Kyungsoo. As they walked, Joonmyun was texting – Heechul, no doubt. Sure enough, they had barely left the room before Heechul and Kibum and Jongdae had joined them, Jonghyun and Yesung not far behind. They made their way towards the stairs, not speaking. Minho could feel Heechul trembling with rage beside him.

Joonmyun led them through a maze of hallways, and as they got closer – well, Minho assumed they were getting closer – to their destination, the heat and fury and anger and turmoil rolling off of Heechul only increased.

They paused, and Joonmyun turned to them. “Yesung, Jonghyun, Jongin, and I will stay out here. Heechul, you’ll take Minho, Kibum, and Jongdae inside.”

“Not Jongdae.”

“It’s him or Jongin. Who would you rather risk?” Heechul didn’t respond. “Fine. Take the hunter.” Without a word, Jongin and Jongdae traded places. Jongin put a hand on Heechul’s elbow, fingers pressing gentle against his skin. “They’ll be safe with me, you know that. Take care of those three; you know Taemin and Yixing will kill you if you don’t. Like, actual stake-through-the-heart death.”

“I know.” Without another word, Heechul turned, led his little party down the hallway. Jonghyun and Jongdae followed a ways, and then stopped outside the door. Heechul took a deep breath, Jongin’s hand still gentle and encouraging on his arm, and then pushed open the door.

Hakyeon had been waiting for them, that much was obvious, by the way he was sitting, leaning back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other. He gazed up at them for a long moment, before he smirked. “Darling Heechul. You’ve brought friends.” Heechul growled, and Jongin’s hand clamped down on his elbow, holding him in place. “Ah, sweet Jongin. And I suppose that makes you two Minho and Kibum, yes?” Slow nods, and Hakyeon grinned. “I imagine you’ve come looking for your hunter, yes, darling?” Heechul exhaled slowly, nostrils flaring. “Aw, does that make you angry?” No response. “Don’t tell me you weren’t expecting it. I raised you, I trained you, I made you just like me, you know exactly how my mind words. You’re only upset, silly child, because you weren’t there to protect him.” Heechul looked about ready to lunge, but Jongin held him in place. Hakyeon tutted quietly, uncrossed his legs, and leaned forward. “Have you no self-control? Perhaps I need to train you again.”

“Where is he, Hakyeon?” Hakyeon raised an eyebrow. “My _mate_ , you stupid whore. Where’s Leeteuk?”

“Ah, the hunter.” Quick as a flash, Hakyeon was on his feet, striding towards them. “I had a feeling you’d ask. I also knew you’d make quite a big deal out of it.”

“You took my _mate_.” Heechul glared at Hakyeon, didn’t flinch even when he came to a stop right in front of him. “If I had taken _your_ mate away from you, what would you have done? Would you have let him rot, Hakyeon, or would you have come after him?” Hakyeon growled, teeth bared. “You are the single most insufferable vampire I’ve ever met. Now where, Hakyeon, is my mate?”

Hakyeon cocked his head to the side in thought, smiling gently at Heechul. “If you’ll follow me.” He stepped past Heechul, brushing against Jongin. A shudder ran down Jongin’s spine, and Heechul saw him swallow a noise as Hakyeon turned around. “These children can come with, but the others stay here, am I clear?” Heehcul hummed quietly in affirmation, and Hakyeon stepped aside to allow them to step out of the room. Heechul exchanged a look with Jongdae, who nodded once. When Hakyeon rejoined them, he put his hand on the small of Heechul’s back, led him down the hallway, the others following. They reached a door, and Hakyeon pushed it open, leading them all inside.

The scent of blood hit them all immediately, and Heechul stiffened. “What have you done?”

They heard a quiet noise, from deeper in the room, something very akin to a whimper, but no one moved. “He’s alive, Heechul. I wouldn’t kill him.” Heechul made a critical noise in his throat. “Go see for yourself.” After a moment, Heechul nodded, and stepped away from him, heading towards the dark corner of the room.

Minho didn’t move, didn’t react, when Jongin pressed up against his side, touched his hand. The images flooded Minho’s mind, but he kept himself from flinching. Kibum gazed after Heechul, and then looked at Hakyeon. “Can I ask you a question?” Hakyeon looked at him, and then nodded. “Why are you so stupid?”

Minho sighed quietly, mentally smacking his head into his hand, as Hakyeon spoke. “I could kill you in seconds.” Kibum didn’t respond. “I could literally rip your head off, right here, and all of your friends would be dead before they could move more than five feet.”

“You won’t.”

“You sound awfully confident.”

Kibum smiled at him. “You’re not stupid. Regardless of what you say, you don’t want Heechul to hate you. You know that he’s the only child that you might have – well, I take that back. You might have had a chance for redemption, before you kidnapped his mate.”

Hakyeon growled quietly. “If I can convince Jongin to feed, I can convince Heechul to forgive me.” Jongin whined quietly, pressed closer to Minho. “Oh, shush, little hunter. You got over it.” Hakyeon looked back at Kibum, who spoke quietly.

“That’s why you’re going to give Leeteuk back, right?” Hakyeon didn’t respond. “Don’t bother denying it, I can see it in your head.” Hakyeon nodded slowly. “What happened to change your mind?” No answer. “Oh. _Oh_. Oh dear.” A long silence. “I’m-”

“Shut up.” Hakyeon hissed the words out, glared at Kibum until two more vampires entered the room. They both moved to Hakyeon’s side, one touching a gentle hand to his shoulder. “ _What_?”

“Jaehwan and Taekwoon have left. And…well. There’s quite a few hunters upstairs. Not just the ones that Heechul brought. The…well. The Lady is here too. And she’s quite anxious to see you, if you’re available.” Hakyeon swore quietly under his breath, and then looked at Kibum. “You, Jongin, upstairs, now.”


	28. war

The Lady hadn’t been happy to see that almost every single hunter under Luhan’s control had elected to come here. She also hadn’t been happy to see how close some of the hunters were to the vampires. None of them had missed the dirty look she had sent Jongin and Kyungsoo when the vampire had wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist, and hugged him close, trembling – except maybe Jongin himself.

Kibum had stiffened when he had spotted Luhan, Minseok standing beside him, the Lady on the other side. She looked absolutely furious, murderous, even, and for the first time in his time knowing her, Kibum feared that she might actually kill him. “My Lady, I-” She raised a hand, silencing him, and he stepped out of her way as she moved forward, towards Hakyeon.

“Hakyeon, I believe we had an arrangement sorted out. You don’t touch my hunters, and we don’t have a problem. I thought you understood.” Hakyeon didn’t move, even when she came to a stop right in front of him. “Explain to me, then, why you thought you could kidnap one of them.”

“My business with my children is my own, and I will not have a _human_ interfering.”

Luhan grabbed Minseok’s hand, pressed close to him. He didn’t like the way the Lady’s body tensed at those words, didn’t like the look on her face. “You might want to reconsider what you just said to me, Hakyeon.”

“Or what? Are you going to kill me?”

Jongin whined quietly, clung to Kyungsoo. The Lady turned to look at him, upper lip curling with disgust. “Don’t hurt him.”

“She won’t.” They all looked up when Heechul spoke, as he entered the room, an arm around Leeteuk’s waist, the hunter leaning heavily against him, blood on his face. They could all smell it, even the hunters. “She won’t.”

“You sound very confident in that, vampire.”

The Lady sounded far too confrontational for Leeteuk’s liking. His fingers fisted in Heechul’s shirt, and he righted himself, not pulling away from the vampire. “He’s not wrong, you know. You won’t hurt Hakyeon.” The Lady raised an eyebrow, and Leeteuk continued, voice quiet. “Because you know that if you do, every vampire, and every one of Luhan’s hunters in this room will turn on you, and your own guard. And you can’t win that fight.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because regardless of Hakyeon being Hakyeon and kidnapping me, you told the hunters that they couldn’t come after me, you told them that they weren’t allowed to. You abandoned me, in a vampire nest, and that doesn’t sit well with them. And yes, Hakyeon kidnapped me, but he also gave me back, willingly.” Leeteuk fell silent, breathing hard, and the Lady gazed at him. “So no, you won’t hurt him. You can try, but I have no doubt that you’ll be killed before you can actually do anything.”

The Lady’s nostrils flared. “Careful, Leeteuk. You’d do well to remember whose side you’re really on.”

Leeteuk rolled his eyes. “See, you say that, you seem to believe that I don’t know whose side I’m on, but here’s the thing. I know _exactly_ who I support in this, and I know for a fact that it’s not you. I don’t abandon my friends, my family, and I also don’t appreciate those who do.”

The Lady looked absolutely murderous, as she stared at him. Leeteuk saw her hand move, slowly, fingers wrapping around her stake, and he put a hand on top of Heechul’s wrist, a silent signal. “You’re making yourself a powerful enemy. You really think any of Luhan’s hunters will follow you?”

Luhan spoke, then, voice shaky. “They might not follow _him_ , my Lady, but I know for a fact that they will follow me.” The Lady whirled about, growling. Luhan squared his shoulders, stared her straight in the eyes. “I would have thought that my choice was obvious to you, when I protected the ones who violated your orders. But if you couldn’t already tell, I’m going to stand with Leeteuk. I won’t stand with someone who will knowingly and willingly leave hunters trapped in a vampire nest.” Luhan straightened, stepped past her, and came to a stop beside Leeteuk, a stubborn set to his mouth. Slowly, one by one, both hunters and vampires alike followed suit, until the Lady remained only with her hunters.

“This is treason. I will have you all killed.”

It was Minho’s turn to speak. He pushed forward, past Leeteuk and Luhan, and only stopped when he was inches away from the Lady. “You won’t.” She looked critical, of that statement. “You won’t. You need hunters, to protect the humans. If all of us are killed, my Lady, you’ll have exactly zero hunters in this town. You’ll have to spread your own guard thin, at least until you can recruit more hunters, and even then, they’ll never be as good as us. You think Luhan, and Leeteuk, and Yifan, and Seunghyun, and Siwon, and _all of us_ are replaceable? You’re wrong. You’ll never have Hunters like us. You’ll never be able to protect the humans like we have.”

“You and your friends have violated the code-”

Seunghyun was there, then, Zitao at his shoulder. “No. We haven’t. We have done our duty. We have protected the humans, we haven’t _fraternized_. Yes, I might be sleeping with a vampire, but he won’t _hurt_ anyone, and if he does, you stupid whore, I’ll kill him, with my bare hands if I have to.” He put a hand on Minho’s elbow, pulled him backwards. “Go home, my Lady. Get out of here. And if you think that you can send any of your hunters to control us, you’re wrong. So wrong.”


	29. hold me

When the hunters had all gotten out of Hakyeon’s castle, Luhan and Heechul had agreed that the hunters would stay at Heechul’s home. There had been hesitation, from some of the hunters, but after an explanation from Luhan, they had conceded. It was safer, to stay there, then to spread out and go home. Leeteuk had clung to Heechul, face pressed into his neck. He was scared, desperate, hurting, and Heechul didn’t like it.

They had split up, almost as soon as they had gotten back to the house. Yifan had slipped into Joonmyun’s room, and Jongin had led Kyungsoo into his. Donghae hadn’t left Eunhyuk’s side, Kangin had thrown himself into Kyuhyun’s arms, and, surprisingly enough, Daesung had been caught kissing Seungri in a dark corner. Youngbae had found an exhausted Kibum in the library, had wrapped him in a blanket and sat next to him, eyes on his face. Ryeowook had pulled Yesung aside, and it didn’t take a genius to guess where they had gone. Shindong and Sungmin had slipped out into the garden, oblivious to the world. Jinki and Jonghyun had – according to Han Geng – gone up onto the roof.

Siwon had pushed Han Geng down onto the bed, and held him there, kissing him, touched him, gasping out quiet words of encouragement. Heechul was tending to Leeteuk, and the hunter kept smiling at him, sitting up when Heechul didn’t expect it to press a kiss to his mouth.

Taemin had been standing behind Minho for about two minutes before he realized that the vampire was there. He turned, slowly, caught Taemin’s eye, but didn’t speak. They simply gazed at each other, for a long time. “I’m sorry.” Taemin stepped forward. “I’m so sorry, Minho, I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s fine.” Minho took Taemin’s hand, and pulled him forward. “I just wanted you to be safe. I wanted to protect you.”

“I know. And I’m sorry that I didn’t understand that, but I wanted to protect you too.”

Minho closed his eyes, a soft sigh leaving his lips. “I’m a hunter. My _job_ is to fight vampires. I’d rather die doing that than die hiding from them.” A long silence. “That’s how my parents died, you know. They were hiding, from the vampires, and they got caught. They couldn’t do anything. They were _helpless_.”

“That’s why you became a hunter?” Minho nodded. “So that you wouldn’t be like that, wouldn’t be weak or helpless?”

“Exactly. Siwon had the exact same reason.” Taemin raised an eyebrow. “Seunghyun wanted to kill vampires because they killed our parents. He wanted revenge. He wanted blood. He found the vampires who murdered our parents, and he destroyed them. I saw part of it. There was blood, so much blood, they were out of their minds with it, and Taemin, he was cruel, so cruel. I mean, I’ve done horrible things to your kind, I won’t deny it, but I have never been – and never will be – like _him_.”

“You hate him?”

“No. He’s my brother, I couldn’t hate him, but I don’t want to _be_ him. He’s a great hunter, a fantastic strategist, but he’s cruel, and mean, and _evil_.”

A long silence. “He hurt you.”

Minho inhaled, and then let out the breath, slow and shaking. “Yes.” Taemin pressed up against Minho, hands on his waist. “When we were kids. Well, I was a kid. He was…16? 17? Something like that. We were both in training, at that point, and our trainers, teachers, they loved him. It…it went to his head. He couldn’t stand to be questioned, even if he was wrong. So when I…when I questioned him…well, you can assume that he wasn’t happy.” Minho reached up, undid the top three buttons on his shirt, and pulled the fabric aside, so Taemin could see a collection of scars, gathered opposite Minho’s heart.

“He did this?”

Minho nodded, slowly. “He did. I was convinced, for years, that he hated me.” Minho let out a shaky breath. “He didn’t. He was a kid, as much as I was, a kid who had watched his parents be murdered. He was so insecure, so scared, and he lashed out, at people who often didn’t deserve it.”

“I’ll kill him.”

“You won’t. You’ll leave him be, you stupid vampire. He’s my brother, and if you touch him, I’ll kill you.”

“But-”

“Absolutely not. He hurt me, yes, he did, that much is obvious, but we’ve talked about it, we’ve dealt with this, and I’ve forgiven him. It pains him enough, having to see me almost every day and know what he did, and I know he hasn’t forgiven himself, so I’m not going to let you get involved. Let me deal with my issues, on my own.”

Taemin opened his mouth to speak again, but Minho cut him off by kissing him, hard on the mouth. Taemin squeaked, and Minho laughed quietly. “Don’t. Do not say a _word_ to Seunghyun about this, or I won’t have sex with you ever again, am I clear?” Taemin nodded, slowly. “Good.” Minho pulled away, looked Taemin in the eyes. “Now come on, princess, it’s time for bed.”

***

Donghae slid his arms around Eunhyuk’s waist, pressing his face right up against the hunter’s neck. He pressed a gentle kiss to the skin there, inhaled slowly, humming quietly when Eunhyuk didn’t pull away. “You’re not okay.” Eunhyuk shrugged. “Don’t lie. You know that you’re not, you know that you’re hurting inside. Don’t tell me you’re not. I might not know you well, but I know you well enough.”

“I wish I had been there. I should have been there. I should have kept Leeteuk safe, he never should have gotten taken-”

“You couldn’t have stopped him.” Heechul’s voice startled them both. “Hakyeon would have killed you, Eunhyuk, if you had gotten in his way.”

“I’d rather die fighting a vampire, protecting humans, than live a long life locked in fear.”

“What is it with you _hunters_ , and this idea that those are your two options?” Heechul frowned. “You and Leeteuk both. Most of the hunters, from what I know. You all think the same way.”

Eunhyuk smiled at him. “Don’t you understand, Heechul? We’re hunters. We hunt, we kill, vampires. You know how disgusted Han Geng was, is, with what you made him, you’ve seen it, don’t lie to me. And you were there, when Jongin was turned, I’m sure he felt very much the same thing.”

_An image, in Heechul’s mind, the youngling, on his side, fingernails digging into flesh, breaking skin, drawing blood, a scream, Jongdae was pulled away._

“The last thing we want is to become one of you. Don’t lie to me and say that you’re not killers. Vampires kill, and if they don’t kill, they still take, and hurt, and make others bleed, and that violates everything that the hunters stand for. But we also won’t stand to hide. We chose this path, this job, because we want to help, because we want to protect, and if we’re hiding, we aren’t doing our job. So we won’t hide. Once you’re a hunter, you can’t just back out. Vampires can smell it, I know you can, you can smell _hunter_ on me, and Leeteuk, and Luhan, and all of us. The most honorable death, for us, is to die in battle with a vampire.

Heechul sighed. “Is Leeteuk really that disgusted by what I am?”

“He’s working on it. I know him, and he’s trying. But Heechul, remember, please remember, that vampires killed his parents. That’s why he became a hunter; to hunt them down and kill them. He only stayed a hunter because he wanted to fight, and protect the people who couldn’t protect themselves. He’s a good man.” Eunhyuk sighed, pulled away from Donghae. “Give him time, if he needs it. He was just kidnapped by a vampire who’s very much the same type of monster that killed his parents. But he loves you, don’t forget that.”

“I’m doing my best.”

***

“Luhan?”

The hunter didn’t respond, when Minseok entered the room. He didn’t look at him, didn’t turn from where he stood, looking out the window.

“You’re upset. Angry. Furious.” A slow nod. “I’m-”

“It’s not your fault.” Luhan turned, faced Minseok, eyes filled with turmoil, a piece of paper in his hand. He sounded tired, frustrated, broken. “It’s mine. My problem, my choice, my fault.” Minseok looked ready to argue, but one look from Luhan stopped him. “I’ve ruined them. The hunters. I’ve ruined their lives.”

“How?”

Luhan smiled tightly. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand.” Again, Minseok opened his mouth to protest. “Allow me to explain. The first step in becoming a hunter is attending the Academy. When you graduate, you become a member of the Association. They provide…well, everything. Housing, headquarters, clothes, gear, weapons, help, when it’s necessary. The Lady is the head of all that.” He let out a quiet breath. “After…what happened, at Hakyeon’s…” He paused, gestured rather noncommittally to the paper in his hand. “She’s revoked my status as head hunter, she’s revoked everyone’s status as an Association hunter. We’re nothing, now. We have nothing, but the clothes on our backs and the weapons on our waists, and even those belong to her, technically. But now most of the hunters have nowhere to go; we have no headquarters, a lot of them have no homes – I think Leeteuk is the only exception. And it’s my fault.”

“What does that make you, then?”

“That makes us rogues. We have no support from the Association – unless we try and appeal her decision, to the Council, but that never works – and we’re essentially on our own.” Luhan sighed. “We’re ruined. And it’s my fault.”


End file.
